Ahead of their Group C clash in Marseille on Tuesday, Ukraine and Poland UAE-based fans give their verdict on the game.
To gain an insight into the mindset of the fans we asked UAE fans to share with us their predictions, likely line-ups and players to watch.
Do you agree or have they missed the mark? Use #360Fans to share with us your thoughts.
UKRAINE – Yevheniy Semenov (Software Engineer, Abu Dhabi)
The two Euro 2012 co-hosts will face each other in their final group match on Tuesday evening at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille. Last Thursday, Ukraine lost all hope of progressing to the next round of Euro 2016 following our 2-0 defeat to Northern Ireland. Despite heading into this match with their fate already sealed, Ukrainian doesn’t want to leave France without any points from their three group games.
It will be the last game for Mykhaylo Fomenko as Ukraine’s coach after getting much criticism by the media and fans after his side produced some of the worst performances in recent times. I think it’s safe to expect a few changes to the starting XI and Fomenko may use this occasion to give more game time to one of the Ukraine’s brightest young talents, 19-year-old Oleksandr Zinchenko.
The upcoming game should be a very challenging one for both teams as Poland will want to keep second place in Group B, while for Ukraine it will all be about playing for pride.
PREDICTION: Ukraine 3-2 Poland
LIKELY UKRAINE XI: Piatov, Fedetskyi, Khacheridi, Rakitskiy, Shevchuk, Stepanenko, Sydorchuk, Kovalenko, Yarmolenko, Konoplyanka, Zozulia
UKRAINE PLAYER TO WATCH: Andriy Yarmolenko – After the Northern Ireland defeat, the winger said he would be ashamed to return to Ukraine without getting a positive result, therefore he will be well-motivated to show his best qualities. The prospect of moving to one of Europe’s biggest league should also be on his mind – this is his last chance to impress the watching scouts.
POLAND PLAYER TO WATCH: Robert Lewandowski – The Poland star has yet to score at Euro 2016 but after seeing Ukraine’s defensive displays I’m sure he will fancy his chances against us!
WHERE TO WATCH THE GAME: All the Ukraine supporters in Abu Dhabi will gather at Blu Sky Lounge & Grill at Southern Sun.
POLAND – Mark Kar (Development Director, Dubai)
Confidence is high after our point against Germany. It wasn’t the most inspiring performance we’ve ever seen from Poland but holding the reigning world champions to a draw is no mean feat!
Ukraine are out and have nothing to play for but pride, but a major concern for Poland is still around our lack of goals. In fact, we have NEVER scored more than one goal in a European Championship game to date. This would be a great time to end that record. Polish fans are really hoping Robert Lewandowski opens his account to kick start his tournament.
Another worry is that some of our key players are on yellow cards so, against a team, with little to play for, it’s a good opportunity to play clean and ensure full availability for the next round. Finally, Wojciech Szczesny is out again but Lukasz Fabianski is a more than capable replacement, with some believing that he is a better all-round goalkeeper.
PREDICTION: Ukraine 1-2 Poland
LIKELY POLAND XI: Fabianski, Cionek, Gilk, Wawrzyniak, Jedrzejczyk, Blaszczykowski, Krychowiak, Zielinski, Kapustka, Lewandowski, Milik
POLAND PLAYER TO WATCH: Robert Lewandowski – He’s too good a striker not to score any goals at Euro 2016 and if Northern Ireland can score against Ukraine, the Bayern Munich man certainly can!
UKRAINE PLAYER TO FEAR: Yevhen Konoplyanka – The mazy dribbles that punctuated a successful season with Sevilla have been missing so far but there’s no question he and Andriy Yarmolenko are Ukraine’s chief pair of attacking assets.
WHERE TO WATCH: Barasti.
