Ukraine Euro 2020: Schedule Fixtures, Squad, Best players, Coach, Tactics, Prediction for Chance of Winning

Ukraine Euro 2020: Schedule Fixtures, Squad, Best players, Coach, Tactics, Prediction for Chance of Winning

Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko is a standout name in Ukraine’s final squad for Euro 2020 this summer. Ukraine will take on Holland in their opening game of the competition on June 13.

Ukraine will be up against former champions, the Netherlands in Group C of Euro 2020, along with Austria and North Macedonia.

Ukraine Euro 2020 fixtures

June 13: Netherlands, 8pm

June 17: North Macedonia, 2pm

June 21: Austria, 5pm

Ukraine head to Euro 2020 in top form and with an eye on the knockout stages after going unbeaten in qualifying.

Under the guidance of national hero Andriy Shevchenko, they impressively topped their group ahead of Portugal, defeating the reigning European champions 2-1 in Kiev in the process.

The Ukrainians have never made it past the group stage in their two previous tournament appearances in 2012 and 2016, but that will certainly be the objective this summer.

They face a tricky opening game against the Netherlands in Amsterdam on June 13, before facing North Macedonia in Bucharest on June 17.

Finally, Ukraine take on Austria in the Romanian capital’s National Arena on June 21.

The winners of Group C will face the third-placed side from Group D, E or F in Budapest.

The group runner-up, meanwhile, will face the winners of Group A in London: Italy, Switzerland, Wales or Turkey.

Ukraine could still advance to the knockout phase if they finish outside the top two of their group, with four last-16 spots available to the best third-placed finishers.

Ukraine’s full 26-man Euro 2020 squad

Goalkeepers:

Andriy Pyatov (Shakhtar Donetsk), Andriy Lunin (Real Madrid), Heorhiy Bushchan (Dynamo Kyiv), Anatoliy Trubin (Shakhtar Donetsk)

Defenders

Mykola Matviyenko (Shakhtar Donetsk), Oleksandr Karavayev (Dynamo Kiev), Serhiy Kryvtsov (Shakhtar Donetsk), Eduard Sobol (Club Brugge), Vitaliy Mykolenko (Dynamo Kiev), Illya Zabarnyi (Dynamo Kiev), Viktor Korniienko (Shakhtar Donetsk), Denys Popov (Dynamo Kiev), Oleksandr Tymchyk (Dynamo Kiev), Oleksandr Syrota (Dynamo Kiev), Bogdan Mykhaylichenko (Anderlecht)

Ukraine’s full 26-man Euro 2020 squad

Midfielders

Andriy Yarmolenko (West Ham United), Yevhen Konoplyanka (Shakhtar Donetsk), Oleksandr Zinchenko (Manchester City), Ruslan Malinovskyi (Atalanta), Serhiy Sydorchuk (Dynamo Kiev), Viktor Kovalenko (Atalanta), Marlos (Shakhtar Donetsk), Yevhen Makarenko (Kortrijk), Mykola Shaparenko (Dynamo Kiev), Volodymyr Shepelyev (Dynamo Kiev), Viktor Tsygankov (Dynamo Kiev), Vitaliy Buyalskiy (Dynamo Kyiv), Oleksandr Zubkov (Ferencvaros), Taras Stepanenko (Shakhtar Donetsk), Heorhii Sudakov (Shakhtar Donetsk), Oleksandr Andriyevskiy (Dynamo Kiev), Bogdan Lednev (Dynamo Kiev), Artem Bondarenko (Mariupol)

Forward

Roman Yaremchuk (Gent), Artem Dovbyk (SC Dnipro-1), Artem Besedin (Dynamo Kiev)

Whe are The best players - Ukraine Euro 2020

Goalkeeper: Andriy Pyatov

The most senior member of Ukraine’s national team and Shevchenko’s representative on the field, Andriy Pyatov is a few caps shy of a century of appearances. Shakhtar Donetsk’s number one shot-stopper turns 37 in the summer and will be confident of turning out for Ukraine during the tournament despite ever-growing competition from Heorhiy Bushchan and goalkeeping wunderkind Andriy Lunin, who is now on Real Madrid’s books. If he does feature, then Pyatov, who has kept 45 clean sheets across 96 matches to date, would have been first choice at each of their Euro participations having already played every minute in 2012 and 2016.

Defender: Mykola Matvienko

Having made his international debut in 2017, no Ukrainian international has played more times under Shevchenko than Mykola Matvienko (33), who initially started at left-back before moving into the middle of defence. He’s been near ever-present at the back while the identity of his central defensive partner keeps changing. Not shy of making a challenge, the once Arsenal and Manchester City target is equally talented in possession with his long-range passing often lauded. Matvienko, whose contract at Shakhtar Donetsk expires in 2025, is set to make his tournament debut this summer and would no doubt have already been studying the likes of Memphis Depay and Marcel Sabitzer.

Midfielder: Ruslan Malinovskyi

A solid hand at Serie A’s rising side Atalanta, there’s no question the heartbeat of this Ukraine side is Ruslan Malinovsky whose excellent distribution and ability to retain possession has turned the Yellow and Blue into an easy-on-the-eye force. Malinovskyi’s ability to create space and seamlessly move between the lines not only makes his side tick but also difficult to contain for the opposition. On top of possessing the fundamentals the versatile midfielder, who is as comfortable playing in front of the defence as behind the striker, is another goalscoring threat having already found the net six times across 33 outings.

Forward: Andriy Yarmolenko

Given the reputation of their coach, there’s one area in which his interest will undoubtedly be strong. Regularly finding the net at international level is a challenging prospect, Shevchenko managed 48 strikes in 111 appearances making him Ukraine’s all-time scorer. However, not far behind is Andriy Yarmolenko, who has scored 38 in 19 fewer games. Now at West Ham, the 31-year-old currently occupies the right-wing berth, though has been known to operate on the opposite flank, and will be seen as his nation’s biggest attacking danger this summer, even with potential centre-forwards in the guise of Roman Yaremchuk and Júnior Moraes around.

Who is The manager: Andriy Shevchenko

National hero Andriy Shevchenko is now the national side's manager. Two years ago, many called for the Ukraine legend to be fired, but Sheva stuck to his principles and his team’s luck turned. Now, he leads his country on the big stage once again – this time as coach.

Not exactly a new phenomenon (see Mark Hughes and Marco van Basten), coaching his national team is Shevchenko’s first senior managerial job, though it’s also fair to say very few saw him sitting in the dugout after hanging up his boots.

Then again, leaving the beautiful game altogether would have been a considerable waste considering the knowledge he absorbed during an illustrious playing career that spanned nearly two decades. During that period, Shevchenko was coached by the likes of José Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Fatih Terim, Alberto Zaccheroni and his nation’s greatest tactician Valeriy Lobanovskyi, who is considered among football’s preeminent thinkers. So far, Shevchenko has won 21 of his 44 matches since being appointed in July 2016, while seeing his Ukraine side averaging one goal every 66 minutes. His biggest success to date was reaching Euro 2020 unbeaten and taking four points off defending champions Portugal, including a 2-1 win at home.

The tactics

To date Shevchenko has utilised no fewer than six different formations, suggesting he’s not as rigid as some of his coaching peers. With that being said, the former Ballon d’Or recipient has used the 4-3-3 shape on most occasions, notably during their Euro 2020 qualification campaign.

Another facet of his managerial reign that illustrates Shevchenko’s flexibility is the constant player rotation, having used 60 players so far. Historically, the Ukrainian national team has played a counter-attacking style, but their current boss wants to adopt a more possession-based approach.

“I want the team to play creative football,” he said.

“But there must be a balance. Players must understand when to attack and when to defend or control the ball, when to circle and when to give.”

That ambitious target has come to fruition over the past two years.

Being in a qualification group with Euro 2016 winners Portugal and talent-laden Serbia would have given Ukraine pause for thought but they certainly rose to the occasion after beginning their campaign at the Estádio da Luz with a goalless draw. What followed was Shevchenko’s men posting six wins on the bounce which saw them register 15 goals and only concede twice. A 2-2 draw in Belgrade rounded off their campaign and ensured they joined Denmark, Spain, Belgium and Italy as unbeaten Euro 2020 qualifiers.

Plenty of water has passed under the bridge since Mykhaylo Fomenko’s Ukraine crashed out of Euro 2016 with three defeats from three group games. Veteran midfielder Ruslan Rotan has retired, as has Oleksandr Kucher, while Yevhen Khacheridi has fallen out of favour. That said, the attacking thrust for that squad was provided by Yarmolenko and Konoplyanka, just as it is now.

Chances of winning and making history

Euro 2020: Group C predictions

As touched upon, Ukraine in their previous two Euro appearances failed to escape the group phase, and Sky Bet are offering odds of 1/4 for Shevchenko’s team reaching the knockout round. In terms of winning Group C, they’re behind the Netherlands, with odds of 4/1 and if that does come to fruition, they are 66/1 to go all the way this summer.

Ukraine Key Points

Manager: Andriy Shevchenko

Key Player: Roman Yaremchuk

FIFA World Ranking (April 2021): 24th

Recent performances: Euro 2016 – Group stage, 2018 World Cup – Did not qualify

Odds to win Group D: 5.500*

Odds to win Euro 2020: 68.420*

Ukraine will arrive at Euro 2020 aiming to prove that they can reach the knockout stages of the tournament. They were eliminated from the group stage at both Euro 2012 and 2016, losing five of their six matches in the process, although manager Andriy Shevchenko has claimed that his side possess a good chance of progressing.

Ukraine may suffer from inexperience in the knockout stages.

Expectations that Ukraine can reach at least the last 16 were boosted by their impressive qualifying campaign. Indeed, they topped their group unbeaten and ahead of Portugal while conceding only four goals in eight matches. Similarly to the Netherlands, this was assisted by a palpable sense of togetherness among the squad, as well as attacking talents including Dynamo Kyiv’s Viktor Tsyhankov and Gent’s Roman Yaremchuk.

The Ukraine squad features of a host of domestically-based young players. The average age of the most recent squad was just 25.7 years old, and according to Transfermarkt they have the sixth-lowest total squad value of the 24 nations at Euro 2020. In their most recent squad, just 29% of players were based outside of Ukraine at club level.

As a consequence, Shevchenko’s team may suffer from inexperience should they meet a more formidable opponent in the knockout stages. Their most recent Nations League campaign also did not optimistically portray their chances of a deep run in the tournament, as they finished bottom in a group containing Germany, Spain, and Switzerland.

Overall, Ukraine possess a decent chance of reaching the last 16, as Pinnacle’s odds for them to do so of 1.444* suggest, but there is little to indicate that they will progress much further.

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