Jose Mourinho is backing England to defeat Ukraine in their Euro 2020 quarter-final clash and has made his predictions for the other last-eight fixtures.
Gareth Southgate’s side go into their meeting with Ukraine in Rome on Saturday night off the back of an impressive 2-0 win over rivals Germany at Wembley.
The Three Lions topped Group D with two wins and a draw and are yet to concede in the tournament, let only suffer a defeat.
Ukraine only won one of their group matches but progressed to the knockout stages as one of the best third-placed teams, and stunned Sweden with a last-minute winner at Hampden Park two days ago.
England vs Ukraine is the final quarter-final match, with the Czech Republic facing Denmark earlier on Saturday evening and Switzerland vs Spain and Belgium vs Italy taking place on Friday.
Czech Republic lost to England on their way to the last 16 before clinching a shock victory over Netherlands, while Denmark overcame the odds and Christian Eriksen’s sickening collapse to progress to the quarters.
Switzerland scraped through the group stage before downing World Cup champions France, while Spain have recovered from a slow start to the tournament to keep their Euros hopes alive.
Jose Mourinho's Euro 2020 quarter-final predictions
Switzerland vs Spain – Spain
Belgium vs Italy – Italy
Czech Republic vs Denmark – Denmark
England vs Ukraine – England
Belgium and Italy, meanwhile, have been two of the most impressive teams in the tournament and topped Group B and A respectively.
Asked for his predictions for the quarter-final ties, former Tottenham, Manchester United, Chelsea and Real Madrid manager Mourinho told talkSPORT: ‘Let me give you my view.
‘England for sure. Czech Republic v Denmark will be a difficult one but I will say Denmark. Belgium v Italy, that’s a big one, a really big one. I will say Italy.
‘Switzerland v Spain is also a big one but Granit Xhaka is not playing and they need him so Spain will go through.’
Pressed on England’s chances as they bid to win the European Championships for the first time in history, Mourinho added: ‘I think so. Football is coming home. The final is at Wembley and England will be playing in it.’
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