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Nations League, Division A, Group 4, Fifth Round. November 14th. Leipzig, “Red Bull Arena”
Referee – Ovidiu Hatsegan (Romania)
Germany 21:45 Ukraine
TV broadcast – Ukraine, Football 1, OLL.TV, Megogo, Kyivstar TV, Vodafone TV
The broadcast of the match on the television channels Football 1 and Football 2 can be seen in the online cinema sweet.tv
After the historic victory over Spain, Andriy Shevchenko said that Spain and Germany will fight for first place, and Ukraine’s task is to stay in League A. However, the position of the tournament after four rounds is not so clear. Spain, the leader, has seven points and is just one point ahead of Germany and Ukraine. Switzerland, the only team that has not won a single game so far, is at the bottom of the table with two points.
Ukraine and Germany held friendly matches with their geographic neighbors before meeting. Germany, playing without the Bayern Munich and Timo Werner players, slightly outperformed the Czech Republic. Wing defenders Philipp Max and Riedle Baku debuted with the Bundestim in this game. Both players played well, but if Baku has already gone to the youth team, then 27-year-old Max is the only candidate for the left-back position. It was after the assistance of Max, who plays for Dutch PSV, that Germany scored their only goal (Waldschmidt).
Ukraine lost to Poland and this match left a mixed impression. Shevchenko’s team played the first number, created chances, but the implementation failed. Yarmolenko did not score a penalty, Tsygankov, Yaremchuk and others had good chances. Poland practically could not play in attack, but in the end, Ukraine’s rival scored two goals, and the “blue-yellows” were left with nothing.
However, the results of friendly matches should not be taken into account. Joachim Löw, speaking of Ukraine, said that they are a serious rival, who “did not accidentally beat Spain and Switzerland.” “Shevchenko did a good job,” said the coach of the German national team, praising his future rival for his good defensive play. At the same time, one cannot help but read in Lev’s words the attitude towards the League of Nations as a secondary tournament. “We can still win this group, but other things are important to me,” said the 60-year-old. For Lev, it is important to prepare the team for the European Championship, or rather even for the World Cup in 2022, than to perform successfully in the Nations League.
Figures and facts
- Germany has never lost to Ukraine. The “Blue-Yellows” managed to tie three games, four more ended in defeats for our national team. The total score is 14: 6 in favor of Germany.
- German flank defenders Baku and Max, who played the Czech Republic on Wednesday, became Bundestim rookies 111 and 112 with Joachim Loew.
- Also in the match with the “Czech Republic” Germany for the first time in six games, or since November 2019, could not miss.
- Ukraine last won away from home more than a year ago, defeating Lithuania 3-0 in September 2019. Ukraine’s last three away games ended in losses with a total score of 1-13.
- Germany is unbeaten in 11 consecutive games. The last Bundestim to defeat was the Netherlands, winning the tackle last September in Hamburg with a score of 3: 2.
Approximate compositions
Most of the world’s teams and clubs have long forgotten what it’s like to play for the top teams, but the pre-match defeat due to the coronavirus of Tsygankov and Yarmolenko (to a lesser extent Kovalenko and Sidorchuk) is a huge challenge for Ukraine. Zubkov and Marlos are likely to play at the winger position. Most likely, we should wait for Andriy Pyatov to return to goal, especially since a pair of Shakhtar center-backs will play in front of him.
The German team also suffered a lot. Left-back Philip Max got a call only because three players in his position were injured at the same time, and there are also problems on the right flank. Bild predicts that center back Matthias Ginter, who scored against Ukraine in the first leg, will play at the right-back position. Compared to that fight, the pair of centers will change completely: Kroos is disqualified and Kimmich has an injury. Kai Havertz and Julian Draxler won’t help the Bundestim either.
Germany: Neuer – Rüdiger, Koch, Suhle – Max, Gundogan, Goretzka, Ginter – Sane, Werner, Gnabri
Ukraine: Pyatov – Sobol, Matvienko, Krivtsov, Hemp – Stepanenko, Malinovsky, Zinchenko – Zubkov, Yaremchuk, Marlos
Prediction for the match Germany – Ukraine
Given the personnel problems, Shevchenko should probably choose a pragmatic model of the match against Germany. Players like Sane, Werner and Gnabry have very good speed and clever use of free space. Germany has a very strong attack, but an extremely problematic defense. If Tsygankov and Yarmolenko were available, the Ukrainians’ chances of a positive outcome would be greater. Circumstances played against Shevchenko’s team. Prediction: Germany will win 2: 0.
This forecast is only one of the possible scenarios for the development of events; does not guarantee a victory.
