The choice of Ukrainemarked by the war the country has endured since the invasion of Russia two and a half years ago, will begin its Eurocup journey against Romania with a minefield of talents threatening to turn its team into a revelation of the tournament: Andriy Lunin, Artem Dovbyk, Viktor Tsygankov, Oleksandr Zinchenko or Mijailo Mudryk These are some of the names destined to try to make history in Germany.
The team led by Sergey Rebrov There is no denying that he lives his life watching the news coming from his country out of the corner of his eye. In fact, some of their players came from cities that were destroyed or occupied by Russia. This week, the federation published a video concerned with their situation and names such as Mykola Shaparenko, Maksym Talovierov, Anatoliy Trubin who shaped the history experienced by their conquered or destroyed cities.
And, sure enough, one of the messages that appear in the video makes that clear to Ukraine, the Eurocup is more than a championship: “Our hometowns want to host the Euros. Right now, they are not fighting for a tournament, but for their freedom.” For this reason, the match against Romania, the first one, is a special rivalry for the Ukrainian players: it could be the beginning of a great tournament in which the men of Revrov They can claim, through sport, the state in which their country is located.
Rebrov, ex-footballer who had a great career between 1991 and 2009 (He is part of Dinamo kyiv where Andriy Shevchenko also stands out), he has a large group of players on his hands that combine talent and youth. Almost all of their players are at an age that many would consider ideal for playing soccer. And, besides, they are in big European clubs, a plus to know the pressure to endure in a big tournament like the Euro Cup.
Mudryk (23 years old, Chelsea), Zinchenko (27, Arsenal), Lunin (26, Real Madrid), Dovbyk and Tsygankov (26, Girona)they mix with players who have more experience and have a lot of quality: Ruslan Malinovskyi (31 years old, Genoa), Andriy Yarmolenko (34, Dinamo kyiv) or Taras Stepanenko (34, Shakhtar Donetsk). The cocktail, if it works, can explode and Rebrov’s team can be the revelation of the Euro Cup.
Ukraine’s most ambitious goal is to reach the quarterfinals which they reached at the last European Championship. And, for their debut against Romania, Rebrov can rely on all their players except Vitaliy Mykolenko, who is doubtful with an ankle injury. The rest is available to face a tournament that for Ukraine is more than football and where the quality of its players does not guarantee ownership even for the top scorer of the League: Dovbyk will fight Yaremchuk for somewhere at the top of the group.
Today, the stone guest on the day of the start of football and political demands of Ukraine is Romania. First, it is a candidate to be one of the best third in group E and will fight Slovakia for that position. Ukraine is a step up and Belgium are clear favorites to finish in first place.
However, the team that leads Edward Iordanescu, returning to a European Championship after eight years, sees the tournament as “a good opportunity” that has been worked for, in the words of the Romanian coach. However, they don’t want to be a team that just enjoys the experience of walking into Germany’s stadiums. Romania wants to fight to gain some fame.
But the truth is that their best players are not at their best either. The goalkeeper Horatio Moldovan he did not play for Atlético de Madrid; His reference, Nicolae Stanciu, did it, but in a minor club like Damac in the Saudi Arabian league; and the center Radu Dragusin, Until January he actively participated in Genoa, but then he played only nine games in Tottenham after signing for the English club in the winter market.
With that script, that of a seemingly inexperienced team, whose numbers haven’t flashed this season, and of another team hungry to win to give joy to a nation that wants to put aside misfortunes of war in minutes. , there was a match where Ukraine, before the opening whistle, was the clear favorite to take the three points and start its journey towards the title of ‘revelation team’.
Possible lineups:
Romania: Moldova; Ratiu, Dragusin, Burca, Bancu; Razvan Marin, Marius Marin, Stanciu; Man Alibec, Dragus and Mihaila Coman.
Ukraine: Lunar; Konoplya, Zabarnyi, Matvienko, Mykhaylichenko; Stepanenko or Brazhko, Zinchenko; Tsygamkov, Sudakov, Mudryk; and Dovbyk.
Referee: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden).
stadium: Allianz Arena (Munich).
Time: 15:00 (1st)
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
