Ukraine meet North Macedonia at Arena Nationala, Bucharest, Romania, in their second Group C clash at Euro 2020.
Both teams enter this match off the back of opening defeats in Group C meaning that a win of three or more goals could temporarily send them top for six hours, whilst the losing team could find themselves on the brink of elimination.
Team News
Oleksandr Zubkov is a doubt for Ukraine after suffering a foot injury in the 13th minute of Sunday’s loss to Netherlands.
Andriy Shevchenko meanwhile has no other injury concerns and could stick with a 4-3-3 lineup with Marlos or Viktor Tsygankov set to replace Zubkov.
North Macedonia have no fresh injury concerns and could field an unchanged starting eleven.
Stat Attack
- This is Ukraine’s first meeting against Macedonia at a major tournament.
- Ukraine are unbeaten in three of four previous meetings against North Macedonia in all competitions (W2, D1, L1).
- North Macedonia are yet to score in two ‘away’ matches against Ukraine (D1, L1).
- Five of Ukraine’s 11 goals in 2021 have been scored between Andriy Yarmolenko (3) and Roman Yaremchuk (2), with three of their goals in total coming after half time.
- North Macedonia have lost both matches in which they conceded first in 2021 (L2), losing to Romania in March then Austria last Sunday.
Prediction
Ukraine will certainly be coming into this match disappointed with their defeat on Sunday after showing great fightback from two goals down, only to concede a late winner but they were able to match Netherlands throughout despite being largely outplayed.
North Macedonia meanwhile found themselves in a physical contest against Austria yet small defensive mistakes ultimately cost them, which is something that they will learn from as they continue to build their confidence and experience in major tournaments.
Both teams however are in strong goalscoring form so I am expecting to see a cracking game packed with chances, although Ukraine’s quality could well prove the difference here.
Prediction: Ukraine 2-1 North Macedonia
Result: Ukraine 2-1 North Macedonia