Ukraine 5-0 Serbia
It’s only two games into Euro 2020 qualifying but this SBOBET writer believes Serbia already have a mountain to climb.
Indeed, the names of Viktor Tsyhankov, Yevhen Konoplyanka and Roman Yaremchuk are ones which could haunt coach Mladen Krstajic and his players for some time to come if they do not respond swiftly.
What produced the Euro 2020 qualifying news shock of the night had not expected to be played out this way in the Arena Lviv.
That it did means the Euro 2020 qualifying betting odds are, for now anyway, stacked against them.
Highlights of the game
Make no mistake, this was a five-star showing from Ukraine who stay top of Group B.
It was 21 year-old Tsygankov, the Dynamo Kiev winger, who led the way with two quick goals midway through the first half.
As Ukraine carved open the visiting defence almost at will, his sweeping shot after a pass by Oleksandr Karavaev was followed by a thunderbolt into the top corner to put the hosts firmly in the driving seat.
Once the floodgates were opened, they stayed open.
Less than a minute after the restart, Konoplyanka curled the ball brilliantly beyond goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic from the edge of the penalty area.
Then Roman Yaremchuk notched his first international goal for Ukraine, tapping in after another assist by the impressive Karavaev. before the livewire Konoplyanka produced almost a carbon copy of his first strike to round off the scoring.
But for Dmitrovic, who produced save after save, it would have been worse for the hapless Serbs.
Even with the likes of Dusan Tadic – fresh from an impressive season with Ajax – and former Man City man Aleksandar Kolarov – they looked bereft of pace and ideas in attack and a far cry from the team which held European champions Portugal on their own turf in their opening qualifier in March.
Luka Jovic, Real Madrid’s new £58 million signing from Eintracht Frankfurt this week, was also largely anonymous.
How they could have done with the experience of the likes of Branislav Ivanović, Matija Nastasić and Nemanja Matić who were not recalled.
Ultimately, this result kept the Ukrainians top of the group on seven points from three games, three ahead of Luxembourg who drew 1-1 at Lithuania.
Head coach Andriy Shevchenko is undergoing a quiet improvement.
Few of you will need an introduction to him.
His country’s record scorer by a distance with 48 goals in 111 appearances, he captained the team to the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup and became the first player to reach the 100-cap milestone for Ukraine, in October 2010.
He then scored twice in a famous win against Sweden at Euro 2012, his international swansong.
Since taking over at the helm following Euro 2016, Ukraine may have missed out to Iceland and Croatia in their qualifying section for last summer’s World Cup but his presence is clearly making an impact on the current side.
He has since guided them to promotion into League A in the inaugural UEFA Nations League and now this win has continued their fine start in qualifying for next summer’s big tournament.
Key statistics
This was Serbia’s heaviest defeat as an independent nation.
Tsygankov, who was selected in the starting line-up to replace the injured Andriy Yarmolenko, has now scored three goals in the past two games for Ukraine in this Euro 2020 qualification period.
Manchester City starlet Oleksandr Zinchenko was so happy with the 5-0 victory he kissed a reporter who interviewed him after the match.
The Ukranian full-back has broken into the Manchester City first team this season, going on to make 14 Premier League appearances and 29 appearances in all competitions.
What’s next?
Ukraine welcome Luxembourg to Lviv on Monday (June 10) hoping to continue their fine record against the minnows. They have won all of their previous meetings, although their qualifying clash in March was a lot closer than some expected and it took a late own goal to seal them the points.
Serbia welcome Lithuania to Belgrade on the same night in need of maximum points to climb off the bottom of the table.
This is a side they beat 4-1 in the Nations League last autumn.
Ukraine’s next three fixtures in Group B are against Luxembourg and a double header against Lithuania. On paper, the Ukrainians have a stronger side than Luxembourg or Lithuania.
Should the Zbirna collect maximum points from these upcoming three fixtures, they could potentially qualify for the 2020 European Championships with two matches to spare.
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