Ukraine (UKR) and North Macedonia (MAC) will be keen to open their account in Euro 2020 when they face each other in the Group C fixture. Both teams suffered a defeat in their respective opening game of the tournament. Ukraine, who recovered from two goals down against the Netherlands, was undone by Denzel Dumfries’ 85th-minute winner. Meanwhile, Austria struck late to deny North Macedonia a point in their first-ever fixture in the UEFA European Championship.
Roman Yaremchuk and Andriy Yarmolenko were Ukraine’s bright sparks in the narrow defeat in their tournament opener. They were trailing 2-0 at the hour mark but made a stunning comeback as Yarmolenko and Yaremchuk struck in the space of four minutes. But, with five minutes left on the clock, Ukraine conceded again. Ukraine boss Andriy Shevchenko will be hoping for a better show from his defenders in the must-win clash.
Veteran Goran Pandev gave North Macedonians something to cheer for in the two-goal defeat against Austria. He capitalized on a defensive howler to score his country’s first goal in Euros. In the second half, Napoli’s Eljif Elmas, too, showed his quality as he sent a peach of a pass to Boban Nikolov, but goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann stormed out from his area and blocked the attempt.
Head-to-Head
Played: 4
UKR won: 2
MAC won: 1
Drawn: 1
Top Five Fantasy Points scorers (last match)
UKR: R Yaremchuk (17 pts), A Yarmolenko (12 pts), R Malinovskyi (8 pts), O Zinchenko (5 pts), O Karavayev (4 pts)
MAC: G Pandev (10.5 pts), S Ristovski (4.5 pts), A Ademi (4 pts), E Elmas (3.5 pts), S Dimitrievski (3.5 pts)
Stats & Facts
- R Yaremchuk (FOR) netted three goals and an assist from his last four appearances for Ukraine
- R Malinovskyi (MID) grabbed an assist and completed 27 passes against the Netherlands in the Euro 2020 Group C match
- A Yarmolenko (FOR) has scored three goals in Ukraine’s last two matches
- S Ristovski (DEF) & D Velkovski (DEF) completed 30 passes against Austria in the Euro 2020 Group C match
- S Dimitrievski (GK) made four saves against Austria in the Euro 2020 Group C match
Injuries/Suspensions
UKR: O Zubkov (doubtful)
MAC: none
Playing 11
UKR (possible): G Bushchan; O Karavayev, I Zabarnyi, E Matviyenko, V Mykolenko; O Zinchenko, S Sydorchuk, R Malinovskyi; A Yarmolenko, R Yaremchuk, Tsygankov
MAC (possible): S Dimitrievski; S Ristovski, V Musliu, D Velkovski, E Alioski; B Nikolov, A Ademi, E Bardhi; E Elmas, G Pandev, A Trajkovski
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Parameswaran Sankaranarayanan
Parameswaran Sankaranarayan is a sports enthusiast who has worked in print, website, and other digital platforms. He was part of the editorial team of first-ever Indian football-based website - IndianFootball.com (now defunct) - and passionately follows the latest happenings in world football. During his time as a journalist, he had the opportunity to interact with some of the iconic personalities in Indian sports and witness some memorable moments in Indian football.
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