Harry pondering Ukraine post

Representatives of Harry Redknapp are in talks over a big-money offer to install him as Ukraine manager.

It has been claimed discussions have been going on for a fortnight after the Ukrainian FA made the former Spurs boss their number-one target.



Redknapp's agent Paul Stretford is thought to be in Kiev thrashing out the details of the deal, which will see his client back in work for the first time since being shown the door at White Hart Lane in June.



QPR had been expected to sack Mark Hughes and chase his managerial services, but Redknapp may well agree a contract with Ukraine by the end of this week.



He previously told Sportsmail: "It's a fantastic job. I found out about it a couple of weeks ago when they got in touch with my advisors. I am serious about it.



"They are an up and coming football country with some very good young players, some great teams like Shakhtar and some great stadiums.



"I will talk to them and see if we can sort something out. I'm definitely interested, without a doubt."



If Redknapp agrees to the offer, he would be set to lead Ukraine when they face England in a potentially crucial World Cup qualifier in Kiev next September.

Carroll confident of progress

Liverpool star Andy Carroll is confident that England can secure a positive result in their final Euro 2012 Group D clash with Ukraine.



The big striker was on target for Roy Hodgson's men in Kiev on Friday as his thumping 23rd minute header from Reds' team-mate Steven Gerrard's cross gave the Three Lions a 1-0 lead against Sweden.



However, the £35million signing was guilty of conceding a free-kick which resulted in Sweden equalising via the boot of Olof Mellberg early in the second half.



Mellberg then headed the Swedes in front, before substitute Theo Walcott levelled and then set up Danny Welbeck to win it on 78 minutes.



The 3-2 victory means England and France now require a point from their respective final group games against co-hosts Ukraine and Sweden to progress into the quarter-finals.



And, Carroll is in no doubt that they will do what they have to in order to get through.



When asked if he is feeling confident, Carroll said: "100%."



On his goal, Carroll added: "It's a great feeling. It was a great ball in by Stevie, I got in the middle of two defenders and put it away. "



I think we felt a little bit comfortable.



Obviously, I gave a foul away and they got a goal from that, and it put us on the back foot.



"We had to work hard to win the game. Just to fight back shows the team spirit and we are all sticking together. We got the two goals we needed."

Poland and Ukraine stadiums

Let’s have a look at the marvelous stadiums which will host this year’s EURO 2012 in Poland and Ukraine. Each and every one of them a piece of art, with the most important of them being Kiev’s Olympic Stadium which will host the EURO 2012 final.

Location: Warsaw, Poland

Name: National Stadium

Capacity: 58,224

Location: Gdansk, Poland

Name: PGE Arena

Capacity: 44,636

Location: Poznan, Poland

Name: Municipal Stadium

Capacity: 43,090

Location: Worclaw, Poland

Name: Municipal Stadium

Capacity: 44,416

Location: Kiev, Ukraine

Name: Olympic Stadium

Capacity: 63,195

Location: Donetsk, Ukraine

Name: Donbass Arena

Capacity: 50,055

Location: Kharkiv, Ukraine

Name: Metalist Stadium

Capacity: 35,721

Location: Lviv, Ukraine

Name: New Lviv Stadium

Capacity: 34,915

So these are the stadiums on which EURO 2012 will take place. Although they are not all finished yet, they will be until the beginning of summer, and all that will be needed now is for the teams to honor these works of art with their best performances. The stadiums are expected to be packed with people eager to see Germany, Italy, England, Netherlands, France and other top teams try to steal the trophy away from Spain. EURO 2012 will surely be one of the best yet given the way all big teams looked in the qualifiers.

Shevchenko a threat to France

A partisan home crowd isn't the only thing France has to keep quiet when it plays Ukraine at EURO 2012.



A resurgent Andriy Shevchenko has shrugged off a combination of back pain and criticism to steal the spotlight at the tournament, scoring two superb headers to give Ukraine a 2-1 win over Sweden in its opening Group D match.



The 35-year-old Shevchenko's time on the international stage is almost up because he will retire from international duty at the end of the tournament.



Yet a win for the co-host will guarantee it a spot in the quarter-finals and extend the striker's international career by at least one more match.



"We really have a good chance to make it out of this group," said Shevchenko, who has scored 48 goals for Ukraine.



"That's why we cannot fall victim to the euphoria."



Try telling that to the fervent fans who will turn the Donbass Arena in Donetsk into a blue-and-yellow wall of noise.



The fact that Shevchenko plays for Donetsk's arch-rival, Dynamo Kiev, will melt into insignificance, much the same way as the 1,000 French fans expected to turn up will hardly be noticed. They were barely audible against England.



"It's going to be hard against Ukraine. They will be very motivated and have the crowd on their side," France right-back Mathieu Debuchy said.



"But we were already prepared for that."



France had better be ready, because a loss will leave the team perilously close to a third straight first-round elimination at a major competition after early exits at the 2010 FIFA World Cup and EURO 2008.



Ukraine was the team tipped to struggle in Group D.



Reports before the tournament started were of a team in disarray, and coach Oleg Blokhin was heavily criticised for standing by the ageing Shevchenko, who scored 127 goals in 226 Serie A matches for AC Milan from 1999-2006 before his career started to fade.



"I was not surprised at all by his performance (against Sweden)," Blokhin said through a translator.



"I couldn't understand why he was written off before the tournament."



The early win hasn't fooled Shevchenko or any of his team-mates into dismissing the French threat.



Laurent Blanc's team is unbeaten in 22 matches and is far more technically assured than Sweden.



"The French team plays football differently and does more with the ball than the Swedish team," veteran Ukraine striker Andriy Voronin said.



"One chance could decide the game."