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There was tension in Andriy Shevchenko’s words after the game with Germany. The coach seemed tired of this situation, when he constantly has to solve personnel problems, patch holes, experiment with the positions of the players.
Fatigue can also be psychological. In principle, the Ukraine team has the support of the fans, the coaching staff is protected from criticism, but the results want to be the best. In the last six games, five losses. For context, this is more than Andriy Shevchenko, as coach of the Ukrainian national team, suffered from the beginning of his cadence (summer-autumn 2016) until the beginning of the current Nations League (if we do not take into account the defeat of Malta, the match with which it is not recognized by FIFA; if this result, then the number of defeats is the same – five). Therefore, it seems that the Ukrainian team is preparing to play the last game of the calendar year with the last strength: you just have to overcome the circumstances and retain a place in Division A of the Nations League. Then, despite the large number of defeats, despite the biggest failure in the history of the Ukrainian team (1: 7 defeat of France), despite the repetition of the historic anti-record series in the history of the team Ukrainian (three defeats in a row), the year can be considered successful.
Staffing is the biggest problem for the Ukrainian team in this Nations League. Shevchenko rightly pointed out that only one match of the tournament, the opening match against Switzerland, was played with an optimal lineup. The rest of the parties is not only a fight with rivals, but also a constant search for oneself and opposition to circumstances. So in Lucerne today there will be something similar. Eighteen players participated in the training session yesterday afternoon, three more came after the youth team. But despite the number (21 players), it lacks quality.
There are problems with the flanks and the center of the defense, there are problems with the support zone, there are problems with the attacking / midfield flanks. Reznik, Makarenko, Sobol, Sidorchuk, Kovalenko, Yarmolenko and Tsygankov will definitely not play against Switzerland. This is in addition to those who were included in the extended priority list, but did not even reach the location of the national team: Buschan, Kornienko, Mikolenko, Popov, Karavaev, Timchik, Shaparenko, Shakhov, Supryaga.
An important point is the functional preparation of Alexander Zinchenko and Ruslan Malinovsky. After the game with Germany, Shevchenko said that these players were ending the game with injuries. However, later, there were no reports on the state of health of the midfield leaders of the Ukrainian team. Zinchenko and Malinovsky also participated in yesterday’s training session, so we can assume that there are no injuries. But it later emerged that Ruslan was diagnosed with Covid-19. The choice of the starting eleven will depend on this circumstance.
At the gate, Shevchenko will choose between Pyatov and Lunin. We predict that Shakhtar’s experienced goalkeeper will be preferred. On the right, in defense, there is almost no alternative to Efim Konopli. And this player played quite well against Germany, so there is no point in looking for something else. But the loss of Sobol forces us to solve the problem on the left flank.
There are three options. The least likely is the use of Oleksandr Zinchenko from the left in defense. This footballer plays in this position at the club, but has never covered the band in the national team. Also, if Zinchenko is healthy, he will be useful in midfield, even though Alexander played poorly in the last game against Germany. The second option is the exit in the center of Bohdan Mikhailichenko. In September he played two UEFA Nations League games on base, and has already played nine games for the club since the start of the season, eight of which are whistle-blower.
The third option is the transfer of Nikolai Matvienko from the center of the defense to the left flank, and the departure of Sergei Krivtsov with Zabarny. There is almost no doubt that Ilya will appear on the base: Bondar and Cheberko are hardly ready for such a match.
We will see Taras Stepanenko in the support zone. Despite the fact that this footballer is not in the best conditions, not using him in conditions of understaffing is an inadmissible luxury. If all is in order with Zinchenko, he will be the one who will keep Taras company. Due to Malinovsky’s absence, it is possible to predict the appearance of Igor Kharatin, but then a more defensive model of the Ukrainian team’s game looms.
There are also few options ahead. We consider Buletsa, Sudakov and Nazarenko as options for critical situations, if we have to insure someone. And so on the flanks of midfield / attack, the departure of Marlos (right) and Zubkov (left) is suggested. Roman Yaremchuk will play ahead.
If Shevchenko seeks to surprise the opponent, then the option with Yaremchuk on the left flank and Marlos as a “false nine” is possible. This is how the Ukrainians played against Portugal last year and it paid off. Although you can use Marlos on the right flank, Yaremchuk on the left and free Junior Moraes at the forefront of the attack. Then Zubkov will remain on the bench as an option to improve the game. Who knows, you may need it.
Indicative composition:
Pyatov – hemp, Zabarny, Krivtsov, Matvienko – Stepanenko, Zinchenko, Kharatin – Zubkov, Yaremchuk, Marlos
The start of the match Switzerland – Ukraine – at 21:45
Table of odds and international matches of Ukrainian teams – in the telegram channel >>>
