The well-known journalist and editor-in-chief of Football magazine Artem Frankov has prepared a forecast for the Euro 2024 qualifying match between Italy and Ukraine.
Artem Frankov"Any words about the importance of this match are superfluous. No, no, no, any result leaves chances for both participants - at least the Ukraine-Italy match is ahead, but it is impossible to deny the tournament and powerful psychological significance of the match in Milan.
At present, our team's position looks better: both we and the Italians lost to England, but we have a draw with the group leader, while the Italians lost points in North Macedonia. That's why Italy needs a win and only a win, because leaving a set of points at the end of the tournament, in particular, wanting to get something in England, is realistic, but difficult.
In the last round, the teams just made these 1-1 draws. The matches were similar - Ukraine and Macedonia defended with the whole team, giving their favourite opponents almost nothing and achieving a result. However, the Macedonians used a not-so-honest method, forcing Italy to play on a frankly poor quality pitch, while our team fought the English on equal terms.
The Italians in Skopje were desperately trying to save their strength for the game with ours, but the risky tactics of debutant coach Luciano Spalletti failed due to a mistake by Donnarumma, who swallowed a free kick. God only knows how much strength the Ukrainians have retained after the battle in Wroclaw and how much rotation is possible in our squad, whether Yarmolenko, for example, has recovered.
In general, the uncertainty is very serious, the fears are very great, but there is also faith in our team, which under Serhii Rebrov has begun to demonstrate something completely new and pleasant, at least in terms of the result.
However, this does not convince the bookmakers, who see Ukraine as an outright underdog. My bet is a patriotic one - Ukraine will not lose at 2.76," said Frankov.
