England will look to overcome a striker shortage and shrug off bleak pronouncements about the state of its national game by beating Ukraine on Tuesday to take a giant stride toward the 2014 World Cup. Automatic qualification for finishing first in Group H is up for grabs, with England leading on goal difference over Montenegro and one point clear of third-place Ukraine with three matches left. The English would be OK with a draw in Kyiv, which would keep the destiny of the group in their hands ahead of home matches against Montenegro and Poland in October. A victory, however, would make a huge statement after recent comments by the new chairman of the Football Association, Greg Dyke, that English football is a "tanker that needs turning" and that nobody "realistically" thinks England will win next years World Cup in Brazil. "I think if we can fly back with three points then were in a very strong position to go through," said England midfielder Frank Lampard, who will start the match for his 100th appearance for his country. Being without its three leading strikers -- Wayne Rooney, Daniel Sturridge (both injured) and Danny Welbeck (suspended) -- isnt the only reason why England will find it tough in the Ukrainian capital, though. Ukraine has rediscovered its best form in recent months, following up a 4-0 win at then-group leader Montenegro in June with a national-record 9-0 trouncing of San Marino on Friday. The hosts are also still hurting from an unlucky 1-0 loss to England in Donetsk in last years European Championship, when they were denied a legitimate goal after the ball crossed the line before being cleared by John Terry. "Our team doesnt have the big names that England has, but we (still) have good players," Ukraine captain Anatoliy Tymoshchuk said. "The thing is, such stars as Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Ashley Cole have achieved success in their clubs but for some reason or other cant attain the same level of success with their national team. "England has players known to the entire European continent, but Ukraine is better." One player who isnt so well known on the global stage is Rickie Lambert, who will nevertheless lead the forward line for England again on Tuesday. The Southampton striker has risen from obscurity to play a starring role for Roy Hodgsons side, scoring the winner on debut with his first touch as a substitute in a 3-2 victory over Scotland last month and then adding another goal -- plus two assists -- in the 4-0 win over Moldova on Friday. At 31, Lambert is a late developer but he is making up for lost time. This will be the first competitive match outside England in his journeyman career. "You are talking about a very mature person who has seen all that football has to offer," Hodgson said. "He has also seen the fact that if you are not in football, what life has to offer is maybe not as good comparably." Hodgson is renowned for being a cautious manager so the temptation may be to set his team out not to lose the match. Who he chooses to replace Welbeck on the left wing will be telling -- will it be the more defensive-minded James Milner or a more out-and-out winger in Ashley Young or even uncapped Andros Townsend? Otherwise, England will be unchanged from the team that started against Moldova, with Lampard becoming the countrys eighth player to reach 100 caps. There will be two other centurions in the team -- captain Steven Gerrard and left back Ashley Cole, who will both be making their 105th caps. "I lost on my 100th cap so hopefully it can be different for Frank and he can go away with fond memories," Gerrard said Monday. "This is going to be our last crack at doing well at a World Cup and hopefully thats infectious for the group and the young lads can see how much we want it and feed off that." Ukraine coach Mykhailo Fomenko, a wily strategist who has won four straight games since taking over from Oleh Blokhin in December, has no fresh injury problems and has to choose between in-form pair Marco Devic and Roman Zozulya for the lone-striker berth. "England is very strong, its a well-known European team," Fomenko said Monday. "Its not only the match of my life, but others as well." Elsewhere in the group, Poland visits San Marino seeking a win to keep its qualification hopes alive. The fourth-place Poles are five points behind the leaders and must still play England and Ukraine away. Montenegro has a night off after playing a game more than its rivals. Christian McCaffrey Jersey . Austin Watson, Scott Ford, Filip Forsberg and Mark Van Guilder had the other goals for the Admirals (30-21-12). Scott Darling made 30 saves for his 10th win of the season. Custom Carolina Panthers Jerseys .Fucale will not only be one of the local boys, he is also a Montreal Canadiens draft pick and will have a huge cheering section when Canada opens the tournament Dec. http://www.officialcarolinapantherspro.com/Cam-newton-panthers-jersey/ . The Kings paraded the Stanley Cup through downtown Los Angeles on Monday to celebrate their second NHL title in three seasons. Carolina Panthers Jerseys . “The fact that he was willing to do the deal the way we wanted it to be done showed that he wanted me to be a part of something great," Lowry said, noting that Ujiri willingness to sign off on the proposal that both Lowry and his agent presented to the GM was the final straw that convinced him to return. Curtis Samuel Jersey . Curlings version of the Ryder Cup will introduce a new format beginning with the 2015 event, set for Jan. 8 to 11 in Calgary, as itll be Team Canada taking on Team Europe this season and in the 2017 event, while itll be Team Canada against Team World (including the U.The NHL has not decided whether to let its players participate in the Olympics beyond this year, casting doubt on who will be competing for hockey gold in four years. With the league set to push pause on its season for next months Sochi Olympics, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly also is allowing for the possibility of a security issue that could keep the players from travelling to Russia at all. "As of now, we do not doubt that all necessary steps are being taken by the Sochi Organizing Committee, the Russian government and the IOC to ensure the safety of the athletes and guests in Sochi," Daly wrote Monday in an email to The Associated Press. "Obviously, if something significant were to transpire between now and February 9 that causes us to question that conclusion, we will re-evaluate. I dont expect that that will become necessary." Russian security has been looking for three potential female suicide bombers, one of whom is believed to be in Sochi. The country has assembled what is believed to be the biggest security operation ever for an Olympics with more than 50,000 police and soldiers. "The NHLPA continues to be in contact with Olympic and security officials regarding plans for the Olympic Games in Sochi, and will work closely with all concerned to monitor matters in advance of and during the Games," NHL Players Association spokesman Jonathan Weatherdon wrote in an email. Swedens Daniel Alfredsson has competed in each of the last four Olympics with players from the league and is looking forward to a fifth and probably final time next month. The 41-year-old Detroit Red Wings forward said it would be "bad" for the NHL to take the unique experience away from its players in the future. "Its an unbelievable experience," Alfredsson said. The NHL and the players association will decide on future Olympic participation after Sochi, just as they have done since the top players started participating in the games in 1998. League officials just arent sure freezing their league for two-plus weeks in the middle of the season is good for business -- especially when the Olympics are not in the U.S. or Canada. "The North American experiences have been better than far-away Olympics for a host reasons, including exposure," Daly said in a recent interview with the AP. "When you have a North American-based Olympics, you can have a shorter period without NHL games. Were going to have the longest break weve ever had, and that could interruppt momentum for teams and have an effect on their competitiveness based on how many players they have playing, and how many injuries they have in Sochi.dddddddddddd" The NHL had 150 of its players -- at least one for each of the 12 countries in the tournament -- picked to play. The league will not have any games from Feb. 9 through Feb. 24, a 16-day window that is between major American sporting events: the Super Bowl and the NCAA mens college basketball tournament. Instead of directly benefiting from the decreased competition for time and money from casual fans, the league can only hope that allowing its players to be in the Olympics draws more people to the game. "There are potential negative impacts with participating midseason in the Olympics and that factors into the overall analysis of whether its a good idea for us to go or not," Daly said. When the Sidney Crosby-led Canadians beat the Americans for gold four years ago in Vancouver, nearly 35 million people watched on TV. "Its pretty obvious to say its good for the game," Chicago Blackhawks and U.S. forward Patrick Kane said. But even if theres a rematch in the gold-medal game on Feb. 23, the audience likely will be much smaller because the puck is scheduled to drop at 4 p.m. in Sochi and at 7 a.m. or earlier in North America. Would the NHL let its players compete in the Winter Olympics only when theyre held in North America? "I dont think thats where we would go, but I wouldnt rule it out," Daly said. Players, seemingly universally, want to play in the Winter Olympics for the sixth straight time in 2018 in South Korea -- and beyond. The NHL and NHL Players Association have been in talks about bringing back the World Cup of Hockey that wouldnt conflict with the leagues regular season. Daly said the NHL and NHLPA are both in favour of creating a uniform international calendar. "A World Cup should clearly play a part in that," Daly said. NHL players, meanwhile, dont want a World Cup of Hockey -- perhaps every two years -- to replace an opportunity to play in the Olympics. "The World Cup would be cool, but the Olympics are something else," said Swedish and Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jonas Gustavsson, who was picked to play for his country in a second straight Olympics. "Its all the best athletes in all the sports in one place, trying to get gold. To take the best hockey players out of the Olympics would be wrong and would be a shame." 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