The head coach of Kolos Kovaliv Yaroslav Vyshnyak predicted the starting lineup of the Ukrainian national team for the match against England in the qualifying round of Euro 2024, which will be held next Sunday, March 26 in London.
Goalkeepers: Andrey Lunin (Real Madrid), Anatoly Trubin (Shakhtar), Nikita Shevchenko (Alexandria)
- I think Trubin's position is unshakable. Seven conceded goals from Feyenoord is already in the past. Anatoliy is a good goalkeeper and professionals do not dwell on unsuccessful matches. Besides, he played with the Ruh, is constantly in rhythm.
Defenders: Alexander Karavaev, Denis Popov (both Dynamo), Nikolay Matvienko (Shakhtar), Vitaly Mikolenko (Everton), Ilya Zabarny (Bournemouth), Eduard Sobol (Strasbourg), Alexander Svatok, Eduard Sarapiy (both Dnipro-1), Denis Miroshnichenko (Alexandria).
- Mikolenko will come out on the left. Vitaliy is a strong player, consistently performs in the "Everton" squad, not counting the last games, which he missed, recovering from a micro-injury. For me, Mykolenko is the best left defender in Ukraine.
In the center, in my opinion, Matvienko and Popov will play. By his potential Zabarniy should play, but he has missed a lot due to injury and it is not quite clear in what conditions he is (As a result it was reported that Ilya really won't be at the match against England - ed.).
Karavaev looks best on the right. Among all the players in this position he has more experience.
Midfielders: Taras Stepanenko, Georgiy Sudakov, Artem Bondarenko (all Shakhtar), Serhiy Sidorchuk, Vitaliy Buyalsky (both Dynamo), Alexander Pikhalyonok (Dnipro 1), Andriy Yarmolenko (Al-Ain), Ruslan Malinovskyi (Marseille), Aleksandr Zinchenko (Arsenal), Viktor Tsygankov (Girona), Mikhail Mudrik (Chelsea), Yevgen Konoplyanka (Krakovia).
Stepanenko will play in the defensive zone. He is an experienced midfielder, and with the English he will have to do a lot of tackling. In this regard Taras is the best choice.
Zinchenko and Malinovskiy in the center of midfield must provide us with some class - so that we do not lose the middle of the pitch to the English.
As for the right winger, I think, he will play Tsygankov, who is in great shape now and does a lot of productive things at Girona. The left winger will be Mudryk.
Although there are options here. I would not discount Yarmolenko and Konoplyanka. Yevhen hasn't played for the national team for a long time and misses the atmosphere in the team. He can help our team on desire, and he has the skill. We have a very good choice of flank midfielders, the only question is who is in what condition. I think Mudryk, Tsygankov, Yarmolenko and Konoplyanka will take part in the match against England - some will play in the starting lineup and some will come on as a sub in the second half to refresh the game.
Attackers: Roman Yaremchuk ("Bruges"), Artem Dovbik ("Dnipro-1").
- I think that Dovbik will play. Yaremchuk does not always play in Brugge`s lineup, the coaches there change coaches very often, probably, it affects Roman`s stability. Dovbik is more stable at the moment and his physical state is understandable, as well as his level of play. Yaremchuk may appear in the second half. Finally, I want to wish our team success, Kolos team will be rooting for them.
Composition of Ukraine national team, according to Vyshnyak: Trubin - Mikolenko, Matvienko, Popov, Karavaev - Stepanenko - Mudrik, Zinchenko, Malinovskiy, Tsygankov - Dovbik