Euro 2012
2012-06-19 - Ukraine vs England
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: Euro 2012 Group D
Tuesday 19 June 2012 - Kick Off 7:45pm
This game is live on TV
Preview
This is exactly the position that England would have hoped to have found themselves when they realised that they would be missing Wayne Rooney for the first two games of the group stage. They now welcome him back in the knowledge that they will guarantee a place in the Quarter Finals if they avoid defeat against the co-hosts Ukraine.
England earned a 1-1 draw with France in their opening game, but looked to have left themselves in a really awkward spot when they were trailing 1-2 to Sweden in their second game. However, they managed to turn that result around thanks to a late goal from Danny Welbeck and now need just a point to get through.
They can also finish top of the group, and thus avoid Spain in the next round, if they can win the game and France fail to beat Sweden. Other permutations show that England can win the group if they avoid defeat, or win this game by a large margin, although those scenarios involve results going their way from the France-Sweden match.
On the other hand, the co-hosts Ukraine have got a very simple equation... If they win, they go through, if they fail to win they go out!
Ukraine beat Sweden after trailing in their opening game, but were then faced with a comfortable loss to the French in their second game and that has left them in this awkward spot. A draw is no good as they would lose out on the head to head to France even if they are beaten by Sweden.
Oleh Blokhin has tried to shift the pressure from the co-hosts to England by saying there is no expectation on his team as there is on England, but they will need to improve markedly from the game against France.
Head to Head
Ukraine beat England 1-0 when they met here in a World Cup Qualifying game for the World Cup in 2010. However, that game has to be put in perspective as England had already qualified and Ukraine were desperate for the win that sent them above Croatia.
That is England's only visit to the Ukraine, with the other three games all coming at home and resulting in three wins for England.
Prediction
While I was impressed with the manner Ukraine came back to beat Sweden in the first game of the group, I think that says a lot more about Sweden than it did about the Ukrainians who were comfortably beaten by France.
There were defensive concerns about them before the tournament started and the French really exposed them. They have a lack of pace in the backline and I think that could come to haunt them in a game where England don't have to win to qualify for the next stage.
With it being likely that there will be a point in the match that Ukraine have to push men forward to get the goals to see them through to the Quarter Final, I expect the likes of Ashley Young and Theo Walcott to be very important for England on the counter-attack and they should be able to create chances in this game.
I wouldn't be surprised if both sides get on the scoreboard in the game, but I think England will have enough about them to win the game as they may be able to secure a late winner as Ukraine push forward to get a winning goal.
The Pick :
Ukraine 1-2 England
