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Ukraine (4-2-3-1): Lunin; Konoplya, Zabarnyi, Matviyenko, Zinchenko; Stepanenko, Shaparenko; Tsygankov, Sudakov, Mudry; Dovbyk. Subs: Buschchan, Trubin, Svatok, Talovierov, Sydorchuk, Yarmolenko, Malinovskyi, Yaremchuk, Mykolenko, Brazhko, Zubkov, Bondar, Tymchyk, Vanat, Mykhailichenko.
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Referee: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden)
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One of the joys of tournament football is that it gives us an excuse to spend all day every day talking football. Yes, and one of the punishments of tournament football is that it gives other people an excuse to spend all day every talking football too, but still.
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Sometimes, though, we find ourselves in a situation – such as this one – in which talking football feels gauche … yet it is incumbent upon us do so with even greater alacrity than before. Because though Ukraine are defending themselves against Vladimir Putin’s expansionist war, and though their miraculous presence at this competition is part of that story, their team is a football team, their players are football players and their football team will contain football players playing football; as such, we owe it to them to focus on them – without ignoring the stuff that’s outside of their control.
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And Ukraine are a decent outfit too. Goalie Andriy Lunin did well when called upon by Real Madrid in last seasons’ run-in; defender Illia Zabarnyi has excelled at Bournemouth; Oleks Zinchenko is extremely well-suited to the less physical nature of the international game; and Mykhalo Mudryk reeks of the domestic irrelevance, tournament excellence cycle we see at such time. Then if to that you add Everton’s Vitaliy Mykolenko and Valencia’s Roman Yaremchuk, plus Girona’s Artem Dovbyk and Viktor Tsyhankov, you have a side well-placed to benefit from a very friendly draw.
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Which brings us to Romania, a nails but prosaic squad who reached Germany by besting perennial qualifiers Switzerland in Group I – a fine effort, but one expected to end there. Until – like Ukraine, and Slovakia – they saw their opponents and thought right, we’ll have some of that.
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And so, given this is the first working-day football of the competition, will we – even if it means acquainting ourselves with the thoughts of others.
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Kick-off: 3pm local, 2pm BST
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Important Events
Ukraine made one change from the team featured in our guide in Oleksandr Sashko and Oleksandr Sereda. With Vitaly Mykolenko out injured, Oleks Zinchenko has moved from midfield to left back, with Mykola Shapalenko taking over in the centre.
Romania is pretty much as expected.The only change to the team outlined by Emmanuel Roche in our squad guide is the inclusion of Andrei Bulka alongside Tottenham’s Radu Dragusin in the centre of defence.
Yes, let me write it down. Then think about what they mean.
team!
Romania (4-1-4-1): Nita; Ratiu, Dragusin, Burka, Bank; Marin M; Mann, Marin R, Stanciu, Koman; Dragas. subtitles: Moldova, Tarnovanu, Rus, Nedelcear, Alibec, Tikardau, Puskas, Hagi, Mihaila, Oral, Mogos, Soresu, Racovitan, Birliga, Sut.
Ukraine (4-2-3-1): Lunin; Konoplya, Zabalny, Matvienko, Zinchenko; Stepanenko, Shaparenko; Tsygankov, Sudakov, Mudri; Dovvik. subtitles: Bushchan, Trubin, Svyatok, Tarovyerov, Sidorchuk, Yarmolenko, Malinovsky, Yaremchuk, Mykolenko, Vlajko, Zubkov, Bondar, Tymchik, Vanat, Mikhailychenko.
Referee: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden)
preamble
One of the joys of tournament football is it gives you an excuse to talk football all day every day. OK, one of the punishments of tournament football is it gives everyone else an excuse to talk football all day every day, but still.
But sometimes we get into situations where talking about football feels vulgar. This is a perfect example of that. But we have to talk about football more quickly than ever before. Because while Ukraine is defending itself against Vladimir Putin’s expansionist wars, and their miraculous presence in this tournament is part of that story, their team is a football team, their players are footballers, and their football team includes footballers who play football. So we have an obligation to pay them attention. Not to ignore things outside their control.
Ukraine are also a good side. Goalkeeper Andriy Lunin was called up by Real Madrid for the remainder of last season and did well; defender Ilya Zabarnyi thrived at Bournemouth; Oleks Zinchenko is well suited to the less physical nature of the international game; and Michalo Mudryk evokes a cycle of domestic irrelevance and tournament excellence. Add to this Everton’s Vitaly Mykolenko and Valencia’s Roman Yaremchuk, and Girona’s Artyom Dubvik and Viktor Tsykhankov, and you have a team well-suited to benefit from some very favourable matchups.
Moving on to Romania, a good but mediocre team who made it to Germany by beating perennial qualifiers Switzerland in Group I. It was a great run, but it was expected to end there. Like Ukraine and Slovakia, they looked at their opponents and thought they had a chance.
And given that this is the competition’s first weekday football, we will, even if it means finding out what others think.
Kickoff: 3pm local time, 2pm BST
