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Kyle Walker admits ‘relief’ at first England goal on 77th cap amid ‘lack of cutting edge’

 (PA)
(PA)

Kyle Walker admitted it had been weighing on his mind that he was yet to score for England, after netting his first goal for his country in his 77th cap against Ukraine on Sunday.

Walker scored a first-half equaliser from Harry Kane’s inch-perfect pass to hand England a 1-1 draw and a point as they remained unbeaten and top of Euro 2024 qualification Group C in Wroclaw, Poland.

The neat volley from Walker marked a first international goal for a player who first represented his country at senior level in 2011.

The 33-year-old told Channel 4: “It’s just a relief.

“To represent your country and be as fortunate as I have this many times, it’s been on my mind. I can tick that off.

“I’ve finally got an England goal after 77 [caps]. I saw the gap and luckily [Kane]’s found me and I’ve put it away. It’s good that I can contribute, but my main job is stopping goals.”

England looked frustrated for long periods in Poland, unable to break through despite dominating possession.

“Sometimes you just have these nights”, Walker said.

“You come here against a good Ukraine side, so you take a point. We know we can do better. It was tough coming here — they’re a proud nation. Up front, I thought we lacked a little bit of the cutting edge we normally have.”