On Monday, October 12, the national football team of Ukraine hosts their Spanish counterparts in an Euro 2016 qualification game. The game will be played at the NSK Olimpijs’kyj in the city of Kiev and will kick off at 19:45 BST.
The hosts are currently 3rd in their qualifying group, with 16 points from 8 games while the visitors are in top spot in the group with 21 points from 8 games.
A win for Ukraine can see them move into 2nd spot, while defeat can leave them no lower than their current position. Anything but a defeat will see Spain qualify for the tournament proper, while a defeat could see them drop to 2nd place.
The Eastern Europeans, managed by Mikhail Fomenko are in very good form, with three wins and two defeats in their last five games. These wins include a friendly victory against Georgia (1-2 on June 9), and two European Championship Qualifying wins against Luxembourg (3-0 on June 14), and Belarus (3-1 on September 5).
The Yellow-Blue’s most recent draws were in a friendly game Latvia (1-1 on March 31), and in Euro 2016 qualifying against Slovenia (0-0 on September 8).
The defending champions, managed by Vicente del Bosque, are also in very good form, winning four and losing one of their last five games. These wins include a friendly victory against Costa Rica (2-1 on June 11), and three consecutive Euro 2016 qualifying wins against Belarus (0-1 on June 14), Slovakia (2-0 on September 5), and FYR Macedonia (0-1 on September 8).
La Roja’s most recent defeat came in a friendly match against the Netherlands (2-0 on March 31).
Yevhen Seleznyov has started the season in fine form for his club Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk this season, and has already scored five goals. He will provide a stern examination for the likes of Gerard Pique in this game.
Spain have a lot of world class players in their ranks, but Santi Cazorla and David Silva have been lighting up the Premier league with some breath taking football this season. Expect the duo to dictate the tempo of this game if selected.
Ukraine are a very formidable team at home, and Spain haven’t been spectacular on the road recently. I expect the Spanish to do just enough to secure qualification in this game, and play out a draw.