New Delhi: Slovakia and Ukraine will meet in the Group E clash of UEFA Euro 2024 at Dusseldorf Arena (Friday, June 21). Slovakia will come with lots of confidence after a surprise win against Belgium and hope to gain three more points as well. Ukraine will go into the competition, still searching for their first tournament points.
Slovakia were not favourites to be at the top of their group. However, they opened their tournament with a 1-0 win over Belgium, who weren’t able to impress with their finishing, despite creating some good chances. Slovenia were lucky as VAR (Video Assistant Referee) ruled out two goals from the Belgians.
With this win, the Falcons have won consecutive tournament openers in the European Championship, having previously won against Poland 2-1 in their opening match of the Euro 2020 opener. However, after the win, they went on to lose their remaining two games in the edition. If they want to successfully go to the knockout stage for the second time, Slovakia will have to play to their defensive strengths. This has helped them record a clean sheet in their last three matches.
Although Ukraine qualified for their fourth consecutive European Championship, they had to fight for a place in the tournament. During their qualifying game against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iceland, they went on to win both games after being one goal behind.
Ukraine would have been slightly disappointed with their opening game 3-0 loss against Romania. Romania had been deemed as one of the weakest teams in the tournament. Despite having a 70% possession, only two shots landed on target compared to Hungary’s five.
Team News
Franseco Calzona is expected to keep the same side that started against Belgium unless there’s any potential injury concern. Milan Skriniar will take the field as the captain. The centre-back will be joined in a back four by David Hancko, Denis Vavro, and Peter Pekarik, who has made the second-highest appearance for Slovakia.
Having made his major tournament debut for Slovakia, Robert Bozenik will continue to spearhead his side’s attack. In his 40 games, he has scored seven goals for his national side.
Serhiy Rebrov will assess Vitaliya Mykolenko’s fitness after the Everton defender missed the opening game. The 25-year-old suffered a foot injury in their warm-up match against Moldova.
Rebrov may also look to change the midfield and give a nod to Ruslan Malinovsky to start the second group match. Artem Dovbyk also didn’t perform well against Romania, with just one shot to his credit during the entire contest. However, he is an important player from Ukraine’s perspective. In the 2023-24 La Liga season, the striker finished as the top scorer with 24 goals from 36 games.
Head to Head
Ukraine have won three games and lost twice against Slovakia. The two teams have played three draw games. However, in the last match, Ukraine slumped to a 1-4 loss. Ukraine will need to take inspiration from their Euro 2020 campaign, where they managed to win only one game in the group stage and went to the knockout stage. Slovakia, on the other hand, will hope not to repeat their previous edition’s mistake and keep the momentum in their side to end with a successful European Championship campaign.
Predicted Line ups
Slovakia: Dubravka; Pekarik, Vavro, Skriniar, Hancko; Kucka, Lobotka, Duda; Schranz, Haraslin, Bozenik
Ukraine: Lunin; Konoplya, Zabarnyi, Matvienko, Zincheko; Sudakov, Stepanenko, Malinovskyi; Tsygankov, Mudryk, Dovbyk
When, where and how to watch the Slovakia vs Ukraine match in India?
The Slovakia vs Ukraine UEFA Euro 2024 match will be telecast live on Sony Sports Network in India. Live streaming of Euro 2024 will be available on SonyLIV app and website. The action begins at 6:30 pm IST tonight.
Slovakia will look to book their berth for the final 16. Ukraine will want to turn their fortunes and play quality football and keep their qualifications realistic. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
