Ukraine

SHEVCHENKO’S SQUAD IS MORE UNITED AND COHERENT THAN EVER

Only Oleg Blokhin can rival Andriy Shevchenko as Ukraine’s greatest footballer of all time. Sheva was there for all three of his country’s major tournaments as an independent nation.

In 2006 Shevchenko was among the world’s best players as he fired Ukraine to the World Cup quarter- finals, before he postponed retirement in order to lead the co- hosts at Euro 2012 – then bagged a brilliant brace against Sweden.

Ukraine didn’t survive that group, though, and the same fate befell them four years later in France, when the former Ballon d’or winner served as Mykhaylo Fomenko’s assistant.

Shevchenko took over as the national team coach immediately after that limp campaign, but there were significant doubts about his abilities. Critics were merciless at times, and following Ukraine’s failure to qualify for the World

Cup in Russia, there were plenty of calls for him to be sacked. But the former striker stayed to prove them all wrong, and now Ukraine are heading to Euro 2020 with their confidence soaring.

Few expected them to become a force so soon after missing that World Cup, but a country torn apart by a draining civil war is excited about the bold and attractive style their former hero has implemented.

Qualifying handed Sheva’s side a tough draw, but they finished top ahead of Portugal and Serbia, thrashing the latter 5- 0 in one of their greatest performances. Ukraine were unbeaten in their eight matches and leaked just four goals.

Politics still plays a significant role, and tensions around the team can be high. Their best defender Yaroslav Rakitskiy has been omitted since his decision to join Zenit in 2019. However, the squad has become more united and coherent than ever. Old hands such as Andriy Pyatov, Andriy Yarmolenko and Taras Stepanenko are supported by Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ruslan Malinovskyi, Viktor Tsyhankov and Viktor Kovalenko.

The past 12 months have been more disappointing, bringing Nations League relegation and a pair of home draws with Kazakhstan and Finland in World Cup qualifying, but Ukraine also held France and beat Spain 1- 0 last October.

After a favourable finals draw, an upbeat nation is hoping Sheva & Co make it out of the group. Third time’s the charm, right?

LESSON FROM QUALIFYING

Ukraine proved that underdogs can be solid while emphasising attacking football. They only conceded four goals in qualifying, but nobody can accuse Shevchenko’s miserly lot of parking the bus. They’re brimming with enthusiasm, lightning quick in transition and can hurt teams with some brilliant movement.

STRENGTHS

The squad is balanced and reasonably deep, though few of their performers are absolutely crucial to this team, so injuries shouldn’t be too disastrous. Shevchenko has proved himself tactically flexible, and a lot of his players can fill numerous positions on the pitch. Confidence is high, despite some setbacks in late 2020, and having a national legend as coach takes some pressure off the players.

WEAKNESSES

Most of Ukraine’s squad lack experience at the highest level and, with a large proportion of them representing Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kiev, don’t face serious rivals on a regular enough basis in their domestic campaigns. In addition, political tensions and mutual discord between those two clubs could disrupt the carefully crafted sense of togetherness at any moment.

MOST LIKELY TO...

Improve on their performance at Euro 2016, when they went home with no points and no goals scored. This time, they should be far easier on the eye.

LEAST LIKELY TO...

See any of the players getting more press attention than the coach. Sheva is the face of Ukraine.

WHAT THEY HOPE WILL HAPPEN

Reaching the quarter- finals is a realistic target, but fans can dream of an even better result – especially if Yarmolenko and Malinovskyi are fit and firing.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN

Ukraine should stroll into the last 16 and are capable of producing a major surprise from there. Some of their lesser- known players could be considered among the tournament’s biggest revelations – watch out for versatile winger Tsyhankov, 23.