In 2019, Ukraine made history by holding a winning streak in a calendar year for the first time, while also qualifying first in a group ahead of current holders Portugal and Serbia. Moving into Euro 2020 last year, until the postponement happened the team had a lot of momentum. We have noted down a preview of Ukraine in Group C ahead of Euro 2020.
Despite this, the delay may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. The Zbirna’s key men are arguably in far better condition, at least individually. Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ruslan Malinovskyi, and Roman Yaremchuk have had the best seasons of their club careers, while Dynamo Kyiv won the domestic treble.
Andriy Shevchenko’s men have also benefited from an extra year of playing against elite level national teams, first in League A of the Nations League (Spain, Germany) and then in World Cup Qualifying (France).
In the group against an unpredictable De Boer-led Netherlands, an out-of-sorts Austria, and tournament newcomers North Macedonia, Ukraine should be well-positioned to compete for first place. For tournament dark horses Ukraine is a legitimate contender and should not be dismissed in the event of an upset.
Ukraine will compete in the European Championships for the third time this summer. The Blue and Yellows have never advanced past the group stages on any of the previous two occasions. The least that can be expected this time is to break that dreadful record.
In the previous group stage matches Ukraine had only scored once with current manager Andriy Shevchenko scoring a winning brace against Sweden in 2012. Ukraine appear to be strong candidates for first place in their group, with Shevchenko honing his adaptable tactics against some of Europe’s best sides over the last two years.
Also, check out the preview of Group A, Group B, Group C, Group D, and Group E.
Read Euro 2020 fixtures and schedule in India
