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Netherlands and Ukraine will cross paths in the second Group C match on Sunday at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam. Both teams have received multiple setbacks before the start of the competition.
Netherlands received their first blow when it was announced that their regular captain Virgil Van Dijk will not be able to recover in time for the tournament after suffering an ACL injury in October. Their first-choice goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen was also ruled out of the competition, following his positive test for COVID-19. Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek was the latest to register his name in the long list of absentees.
Ukraine’s list of absentees is even longer, and it features some prominent names in the likes of Viktor Kovalenko, Yehven Konoplyanka and Vitaliy Buyalskyi.
But there is no room for excuses in this competition, as both sets of players will try to do their best to fill up the gaps. Following their failure to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the Netherlands team have managed to script an impressive revival.
They came second in their qualifying stage group, beating Germany in the process. However, albeit not very significant, there was a slump in form following the departure of their head coach Ronald Koeman, who took over Barcelona last season.
As for their current run of form, the Oranje fans should not be too apprehensive, as the Dutch have lost only one of their last ten matches. However, the one cause of concern in Netherlands’ display against the top-quality teams.
While Memphis Depay & Co. have easily swept aside the likes of Gibraltar and Georgia in recent times, they were restricted to draws by Italy and Spain, and Turkey handed them a 4-2 defeat earlier this season.
Ukraine had a dream run in the qualifying stage. Despite being placed in a difficult group alongside Portugal and Serbia, Andriy Shevchenko’s team managed to emerge as the table-toppers.
That being said, their recent form is not too convincing. While the Yellow and Blue are unbeaten in their six matches in 2021, they have won only a couple of those matches. Ukraine will need to be more clinical in front of the goal if they want to make a mark in this competition.
Key Players
His difficult spell with Manchester United now seems like a tale from ages ago, as Memphis Depay has done a brilliant job to turn his fortunes around. Since the last few years, he has established himself as Netherlands’ prime goal-scoring weapon. The Olympique Lyonnais player has scored five goals in his last three appearances for the nation, and he is just five goals away from getting into the list of top 10 goal-scorers for his nation.
While Depay’s form has always been assuring for the Netherlands, they were found wanting in their search for his strike partner. Just as when veteran forward Luuk de Jong’s goals were drying up, Wout Weghorst emerged as Netherlands’ first-choice striker. The 28-year-old has often been there or thereabouts in terms of the national team selection, but with his 25-goal season for German outfit VfL Wolfsburg, he has nailed his place in the playing XI.
Leading the lines for Ukraine in this match will be Roman Yaremchuk. The KAA Gent striker had a spectacular season for the Belgian club, where he scored 23 goals in 43 appearances – his most in a single season. Closely monitored by a host of clubs across Europe, the 25-year-old has looked sharp in the recent matches for Ukraine, and he also was on the score-sheet in their last game against Cyprus.
Arguably the most famous name in the current Ukrainian squad, Oleksandr Zinchenko is coming into the Euro on the back of a pretty solid season for Manchester City. He was Pep Guardiola’s preferred left-back ahead of Benjamin Mendy. Zinchenko is likely to play further up the field for Ukraine as a winger. Like Yaremchuk, he found the back of the net against Cyprus.
Prediction
Ukraine defeated Portugal in the qualification stage of Euro 2020, and while their recent form is not up to the mark, Netherlands have also not looked too convincing in their last few matches. Hence, we can expect a closely fought contest in this game.
That being said, in terms of personnel and squad strength, the Dutch are certainly ahead of their opposition. The form of Depay and the emergence of Wout Weghorst is also likely to work wonders for them.
In addition to that, Ukraine have not looked comfortable in front of the goal in their last few matches. Barring the match against Cyprus, they have failed to score more than one goal in a game since September of last year. Keeping that in mind, it will be safe to say that the Netherlands are likely to start their campaign with a victory.
