Euro 2012
2012-06-15 - Ukraine vs France
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: Euro 2012 Group D
Friday 15 June 2012 - Kick Off 5pm
This game is live on TV
Preview
This is the final 'early' kick off from the Euro 2012 tournament and all the remaining games will be starting at 7:45pm in Britain. It is also a very big game for both nations with the three points going to take them a long way to qualifying for the Quarter Finals.
Ukraine beat Sweden in the first come from behind victory of the tournament as they overturned a 0-1 deficit to win the game 2-1 thanks to a familiar hero in Andriy Shevchenko. That means the co-hosts of the event actually lead this group and can confirm their place in the final eight with a win no matter what happens in the later game between England and Sweden.
On the other hand, France earned a 1-1 draw with England in a game they dominated possession wise but were a little disappointing in not creating as many clear cut chances as they should have. Karim Benzema continued to come too deep looking for the ball and that allowed England to play a compact defensive shape and keep the French at arms length for the most part.
The point means France could find themselves in a very awkward position if they lose and England beat Sweden later on, so Les Bleus are likely to be very keen in picking up the win and leaving their destiny in their own hands. Depending on the result between Sweden and England, France could have all but guaranteed their place in the last eight with a win in this one.
France conceded a poor goal in defensive terms against England and they will have to be wary of the threat the Ukraine pose from set pieces in this one. They also seem to have been riled up by comments from the Ukraine camp that they are not to be feared.
Ukraine will also be looking for a better defensive performance as they did afford Sweden a few chances to score equalisers in the first game and they will know that those will be punished by a superior French side.
Head to Head
These two nations met in an international friendly a little over a year ago and it was France who won in Donetsk 1-4.
The last time they played in a competitive game was during the qualification campaign for Euro 2008 and Ukraine forced a 2-2 draw at home having been trailing 1-2 at half time.
France have won 3 of the last 4 games between the nations, although two of those games were friendlies.
Prediction
I thought France looked like a decent side in their game against England, but I think they need to ask Karim Benzema to try not to get involved in the passing triangles that Samir Nasri, Florent Malouda and Franck Ribery were trying to run. Every time Benzema joined them, it just made it easier for England to compact the field, while there just wasn't enough men in the box when the French did get the ball into wide areas.
France do have some vulnerabilities at the heart of their defence and I think set pieces and dead ball situations are going to be a problem for them throughout this tournament. That is an area that Ukraine can expose as we have already seen Andriy Shevchenko score with two headers in this competition.
Ukraine really managed to feed off the crowd in the first game, especially when they found themselves 0-1 down and that seemed to spur them on to complete the comeback. However, I still have some major doubts about their defensive ability and the fact that Sweden missed two glorious chances to equalise in that game cannot be ignored. It is hard to imagine France being as generous if presented with those opportunities.
The last couple of times France have visited Ukraine have been high-scoring games and I have a feeling this will be the same considering both teams have much to gain from a victory and not so much from a draw.
However, I do think the French can finally win a game at the European Championships without Zinedine Zidane or Michel Platini and therefore I am going to take the 4.20 that France win this game and at least 3 goals are scored.
The Pick :
Ukraine 1-2 France
