6/11/12
Ukraine/Sweden Under 2 (+120)
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It's been an interesting build-up for Ukraine, who step onto their own stage and into a sea of yellow and blue on Monday evening. An outbreak of food poisoning resulted in 10 players being taken ill, although all have recovered. Last week, coach Oleg Blokhin said the outbreak "cannot be accidental" - but the team's doctor later blamed salad served at a German hotel. Blokhin admitted his unfancied squad would have to cope with a "tornado" of interest as the game approached. His Polish counterpart, Franciszek Smuda, admitted some of his players had been "paralysed by the pressure" against Greece, but Blokhin said: "I think the fact that we are not regarded as favourites is good. There will be less pressure."
Ukraine's largely domestic-based squad has been sprinkled with younger players since the coach decided it was time to bring through younger talent. But there's experience, too - not least in the shape of Shevchenko. His know-how, along with the pace of much younger wingers Andriy Yarmolenko and Evgeni Konoplienka, could be crucial in what is Ukraine's first competitive game since the unsuccessful 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign. He may have complained recently that his forwards don't score enough - but Blokhin's players are more than capable of causing plenty of problems on the counter-attack, even if they are not always the most reliable in possession (or, come to that, in defence). Whether they can manage to cause those problems amid the bedlam of such a high-profile night, though, remains to be seen.
Sweden - who share Ukraine's yellow and blue colours - come in to the game in impressive form, having won their last four games. Erik Hamren's side are in good goalscoring shape and, like Ukraine, have a legendary forward - captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Containing Ibrahimovic will be crucial to Ukraine's chances of emerging with anything. The way Sweden play is considerably more adventurous than it once was: they have added a quick-passing, counter-attacking dimension to the solid (and sometimes rather dull) foundations favoured by Lars Lagerbeck, and Ibrahimovic's touch and imagination are central to it. The results have largely spoken for themselves: an excellent qualifying campaign saw them rattle in 31 goals, including three in a gung-ho win against Netherlands. But the other side of that coin has been outbreaks of the sort of defensive frailty that wasn't often witnessed under Lagerbeck, with recent friendly matches betraying shakiness in the air.
Hamren, though, isn't budging from his philosophy. "So long as we win our games and score more than the opposition, I'm happy," he said. "If we only play defensively I can guarantee fewer chances for the opposition - but we'll also create fewer chances going forward. We can't get too hung up on the defence."