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Euro 2024 - Qualifying Play-offs - 21-26th March 2024


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At the end of the day, I was mostly impressed by Dynamo Kyiv's 22 year old defensive midfielder Volodymyr Brazhko who made his debut today in this huge play-off match against Bosnia & Herzegovina. Brazhko put in an impressive performance, where his work-rate and constant running stood out for Ukraine today. It was a very good performance for the youngster, who was playing for the very first time for the Ukraine national team. It looks like Ukraine have found a great new defensive midfielder, as Brazhko can now seriously challenge the much more experienced defensive midfielders Stepanenko and Sydorchuk for a place in the Ukraine starting 11.

Mudryk, Sudakov, Konoplya and Dovbyk also had good games for Ukraine, but the man of the match has to be the substitute Roman Yaremchuk, whose late appearance changed the course of this match. Yaremchuk scored Ukraine's 1st goal and he assisted Ukraine's 2nd goal with a lovely cross for Dovbyk to score the winner for Ukraine. All in all, it was a performance today that called on Ukraine's character and they past the test away in difficult conditions in Bosnia. 

Ukraine will now play an impressive Iceland side in the play-off final in Poland.  Iceland are fresh from having thrashed Israel 4-1.

Edited by Michael
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Play-Off Finals Preview:

Georgia v Greece (Tbilisi, Georgia)

The Georgians will have home advantage in this match against a very tough Greek national team. Georgia will also have their star player Khvicha Kvaratskhelia back for this game, after the Napoli player missed Georgia's comfortable 2-0 win over Luxembourg in the play-off semi-finals. Karlsruhe striker Budu Zivzivadze scored both Georgia's goals against Luxembourg and he will be another player to watch against Greece. Watford's Giorgi Chakvetadze, Sturm Graz's Otar Kiteishvili and Levante's Giorgi Kochorashvili are key players in midfield for Georgia, while the goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili has excelled this season for Valencia and his saves could be key in helping Georgia advance to the Euros in this match.

The Greeks are a very solid side and are fresh from destroying Kazakhstan 5-0 in their semi-final play-off game. Panathinaikos forward Fotis Ioannidis who scored against Kazakhstan, will be their main forward up-front. Tasos Bakasetas of Panathinaikos and Dimitrios Pelkas of Istanbul Basaksehir will be who Greece look to, to create chances from midfield. Mavropanos of West Ham will marshall the central defence, while Liverpool's Tsimikas will be a key player at left-back. Keeper Vlachodimos of Notts Forest is a highly rated keeper who could also have an important contribution in this match.

I think that both sides are very equally matched, but I think home advantage could help Georgia shock Greece and advance to their first ever Euros. I tip Georgia to advance, very possibly on penalties.

Wales v Poland (Cardiff, Wales)

Wales host Poland in Cardiff. After Wales's demolition of Finland 4-1, they will be brimming with confidence against Poland. Brennan Johnson of Tottenham will probably be the key player up-front for Wales, although Kieffer Moore and Nathan Broadhead both of Ipswich Town and Daniel James of Leeds are other key options upfront . Harry Wilson, David Brooks, Ampadu and of course the experienced Aaron Ramsey will be important players in midfield. 

Poland who are the favourites, hammered Estonia 5-1 in their semi-final game. They come into this match as the favourites and the world class Lewandowski is bound to cause the Welsh defence all kinds of trouble today. Zielinski of Napoli, Zalewski of Roma, Frankowski of Lens and Szymanski of Fenerbace are all key players in midfield, who could really cause a real threat against the Welsh. Midfielder and ex-Fortuna Dusseldorf player Piotrowski has also impressed in recent matches, particularly with his long range shooting ability. Bednarek of Southampton and Kiwior of Arsenal are important players in defence. The experienced Szczesny of Juventus will be the keeper.

Although the Poles are the favourites for this match, I can see it going either way. Wales always seem to play well in Cardiff and they really get inspired by their extremely loud home support. This is another really difficult game to call in my opinion, as Wales could very well produce the surprise and defeat Poland in Cardiff. But I am just going to opt for Poland's fire-power to help them advance past Wales, despite the home advantage that Wales will have. I'll say Poland to win in extra-time, maybe by a 1-2 score-line.

Ukraine v Iceland (Wroclaw, Poland)

Ukraine who had that dramatic 2-1 win away to Bosnia a few days ago, will want an improved performance in this match. Ukraine showed character to score 2 goals in the 85th and 88th minutes of that match, but they will hope to score much earlier than that in today's game against Iceland. Key player Tsyhankov of Girona is still not fully fit and out of match practice, but he has made the squad in Poland. Whether he is deemed fit enough to play against Iceland is another story. So it seems that Ukraine will probably stick to the team that played against Bosnia, with the exception of maybe starting Yaremchuk alongside Dovbyk up-front. Zinchenko will likely start again for this game, despite still lacking match practice, as was evident with his performance against Bosnia. Mudryk and Sudakov will have a key role to play today, as they are the players that Ukraine will look to, in terms of creating chances today. The youngster Brazhko of Dynamo Kyiv, who made his debut against Bosnia in Ukraine's last match, will probably start again. Zabarnyi and Matviyenko will as usual be the central defence partnership, with Mykolenko at left-back and Konoplya of Shaktar Donetsk at right-back. Rebrov will very likely start Lunin of Real Madrid ahead of Trubin of Benfica again.

Iceland come into this match on the back of destroying Israel 4-1. Hattrick hero in that match Albert Gudmundsson of Genoa will lead the line again. He is reported to be wanted by Tottenham, such have his performances been impressive this season. So Ukraine will really need to stop him from scoring. The teen wonderkid Oskarsson of Copenhagen will also be one to look out for in Iceland's attack. Haraldsson of Lille, Hlynsson of Ajax, Johann Gudmundsson of Burnley, Isak Johannesson of Fortuna Dusseldorf and Ellertson of Venezia could all play a key role in midfield in this game. While Iceland's Brentford keeper Hakon Valdimarsson could have a very busy day today against the Ukrainians in Poland.

My prediction for this game is that Ukraine perform better than they did in their last match and win this game 2-1. The fact that this match will be played on neutral territory and that Ukraine will not be playing away, as they did against Bosnia, will benefit Ukraine. Tsyhankov's continued likely absence is a blow, but Ukraine have enough fire-power to really beat this very well organised Iceland team in Poland. It won't be easy, as Iceland are a really tough side, but I say that Ukraine's talent will earn them a 2-1 win and send them to the Euros in Germany. I'll have the goal-machine Dovbyk to score at least 1 goal today.

 

 

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3 hours ago, Michael said:

Play-Off Finals Preview:

Georgia v Greece (Tbilisi, Georgia)

The Georgians will have home advantage in this match against a very tough Greek national team. Georgia will also have their star player Khvicha Kvaratskhelia back for this game, after the Napoli player missed Georgia's comfortable 2-0 win over Luxembourg in the play-off semi-finals. Karlsruhe striker Budu Zivzivadze scored both Georgia's goals against Luxembourg and he will be another player to watch against Greece. Watford's Giorgi Chakvetadze, Sturm Graz's Otar Kiteishvili and Levante's Giorgi Kochorashvili are key players in midfield for Georgia, while the goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili has excelled this season for Valencia and his saves could be key in helping Georgia advance to the Euros in this match.

The Greeks are a very solid side and are fresh from destroying Kazakhstan 5-0 in their semi-final play-off game. Panathinaikos forward Fotis Ioannidis who scored against Kazakhstan, will be their main forward up-front. Tasos Bakasetas of Panathinaikos and Dimitrios Pelkas of Istanbul Basaksehir will be who Greece look to, to create chances from midfield. Mavropanos of West Ham will marshall the central defence, while Liverpool's Tsimikas will be a key player at left-back. Keeper Vlachodimos of Notts Forest is a highly rated keeper who could also have an important contribution in this match.

I think that both sides are very equally matched, but I think home advantage could help Georgia shock Greece and advance to their first ever Euros. I tip Georgia to advance, very possibly on penalties.

Wales v Poland (Cardiff, Wales)

Wales host Poland in Cardiff. After Wales's demolition of Finland 4-1, they will be brimming with confidence against Poland. Brennan Johnson of Tottenham will probably be the key player up-front for Wales, although Kieffer Moore and Nathan Broadhead both of Ipswich Town and Daniel James of Leeds are other key options upfront . Harry Wilson, David Brooks, Ampadu and of course the experienced Aaron Ramsey will be important players in midfield. 

Poland who are the favourites, hammered Estonia 5-1 in their semi-final game. They come into this match as the favourites and the world class Lewandowski is bound to cause the Welsh defence all kinds of trouble today. Zielinski of Napoli, Zalewski of Roma, Frankowski of Lens and Szymanski of Fenerbace are all key players in midfield, who could really cause a real threat against the Welsh. Midfielder and ex-Fortuna Dusseldorf player Piotrowski has also impressed in recent matches, particularly with his long range shooting ability. Bednarek of Southampton and Kiwior of Arsenal are important players in defence. The experienced Szczesny of Juventus will be the keeper.

Although the Poles are the favourites for this match, I can see it going either way. Wales always seem to play well in Cardiff and they really get inspired by their extremely loud home support. This is another really difficult game to call in my opinion, as Wales could very well produce the surprise and defeat Poland in Cardiff. But I am just going to opt for Poland's fire-power to help them advance past Wales, despite the home advantage that Wales will have. I'll say Poland to win in extra-time, maybe by a 1-2 score-line.

Ukraine v Iceland (Wroclaw, Poland)

Ukraine who had that dramatic 2-1 win away to Bosnia a few days ago, will want an improved performance in this match. Ukraine showed character to score 2 goals in the 85th and 88th minutes of that match, but they will hope to score much earlier than that in today's game against Iceland. Key player Tsyhankov of Girona is still not fully fit and out of match practice, but he has made the squad in Poland. Whether he is deemed fit enough to play against Iceland is another story. So it seems that Ukraine will probably stick to the team that played against Bosnia, with the exception of maybe starting Yaremchuk alongside Dovbyk up-front. Zinchenko will likely start again for this game, despite still lacking match practice, as was evident with his performance against Bosnia. Mudryk and Sudakov will have a key role to play today, as they are the players that Ukraine will look to, in terms of creating chances today. The youngster Brazhko of Dynamo Kyiv, who made his debut against Bosnia in Ukraine's last match, will probably start again. Zabarnyi and Matviyenko will as usual be the central defence partnership, with Mykolenko at left-back and Konoplya of Shaktar Donetsk at right-back. Rebrov will very likely start Lunin of Real Madrid ahead of Trubin of Benfica again.

Iceland come into this match on the back of destroying Israel 4-1. Hattrick hero in that match Albert Gudmundsson of Genoa will lead the line again. He is reported to be wanted by Tottenham, such have his performances been impressive this season. So Ukraine will really need to stop him from scoring. The teen wonderkid Oskarsson of Copenhagen will also be one to look out for in Iceland's attack. Haraldsson of Lille, Hlynsson of Ajax, Johann Gudmundsson of Burnley, Isak Johannesson of Fortuna Dusseldorf and Ellertson of Venezia could all play a key role in midfield in this game. While Iceland's Brentford keeper Hakon Valdimarsson could have a very busy day today against the Ukrainians in Poland.

My prediction for this game is that Ukraine perform better than they did in their last match and win this game 2-1. The fact that this match will be played on neutral territory and that Ukraine will not be playing away, as they did against Bosnia, will benefit Ukraine. Tsyhankov's continued likely absence is a blow, but Ukraine have enough fire-power to really beat this very well organised Iceland team in Poland. It won't be easy, as Iceland are a really tough side, but I say that Ukraine's talent will earn them a 2-1 win and send them to the Euros in Germany. I'll have the goal-machine Dovbyk to score at least 1 goal today.

 

 

Just as I predicted, Georgia have just beaten Greece 4-2 on penalties after the match ended in a 0-0 draw.

 

Edited by Michael
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The Ukraine v Iceland official line-ups are out and there are 3 huge surprises in the Ukrainian line-up. The experienced Zinchenko of Arsenal has been dropped in midfield and replaced by Ruslan Malinovskyi of Genoa. Moreover, star forward Dovbyk of FC Girona has been dropped and has been replaced by Yaremchuk of Valencia. Yaremchuk's introduction as a sub against Bosnia in the last match had a huge positive impact on the game, so I guess that has earned him a start today against Iceland in this pivotal match. While the other huge surprise is that Rebrov has started Tsyhankov in place of Zubkov. Tsyhankov is almost always a certain starter, but he has been out with an injury for a while and didn't even make the squad for Ukraine's last match against Bosnia a few days ago. So starting him is a huge call, seeing as he hasn't played football for a while now due to an injury. So Rebrov taking 3 very big gambles here, as he seeks for his Ukraine side to defeat Iceland in Poland.

Hopefully Yaremchuk plays as well as he did against Bosnia and proves Rebrov right in starting him today. While one thing that Malinovskyi will definitely add in midfield, is the ability to blast in powerful shots at the oppositions goal. Ukrainian fans will also be hoping that Tsyhankov is fit enough to play to his potential and show off his skills.

So Ukraine's official line-up is the following:

                                                                                   Lunin (Real Madrid)

Konoplya (Shakhtar Donetsk) -- Zabarnyi (Bournemouth) -- Matviyenko (Shakhtar Donetsk) -- Mykolenko (Everton)

                                                                Malinovskyi (Genoa) -- Brazhko (Dynamo Kyiv)

                                         Tsyhankov (FC Girona) -- Sudakov (Shakhtar Donetsk) -- Mudryk (Chelsea)

                                                                                     Yaremchuk (Valencia)

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The Ukraine v Iceland match is really coming to life now. Iceland had a great chance as Lille's Haraldsson beautifully set-up Thorsteinsson with a chance and his shot towards the far post forced an excellent save from Lunin. Then moments later Ukraine attacked down the right flank and a cross from Konoplya fell to Mykolenko and his shot went just past the far post. That was a big chance for Ukraine. Ukraine have generally looked much more impressive in attack in this game compared to this stage of their last match against Bosnia.

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Gudmundsson of Genoa scored a superb goal with a shot from outside the area that left Lunin with no chance. Iceland's hattrick hero against Israel has given them the lead against Ukraine in Poland.

Ukraine 0-1 Iceland

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Sudakov responds for Ukraine as he dribbles past Icleands defenders and unleashes a shot that was superbly saved by Iceland's keeper Valdimarsson of Brentford. Then from the resulting corner, Zabarnyi had a header again saved by Valdimarsson.

Ukraine 0-1 Iceland

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Ukraine think they have equalised as Yaremchuk smashes Tsygankov into the back of the Iceland net. The Ukrainians go wild in celebration, but the referee is called to check VAR. On review of VAR the goal is cancelled as the Ukrainians were slighly offside in the build up to the goal. Iceland still lead.

Ukraine 0-1 Iceland

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Tsyhankov equalises for Ukraine!  Tsyhankov went on a run down the right flank cut inside, beat a defender and then shot the ball into the bottom hand corner of the net! Tsyhankov's presence has been evident today, he was impressive even prior to the goal.

Ukraine 1-1 Iceland

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Ukraine are really on the up now, they are searching for that winner as soon as possible it seems. It's all Ukraine now, they've dominated all of this 2nd half so far.

Edited by Michael
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Huge chance for Ukraine, as the youngster Brazhko found Mykolenko in the area with a superb pass, but Mykolenko put his shot wide when in front of the Iceland keeper.

Ukraine 1-1 Iceland

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Mudryk scores the winner for Ukraine! Mudryk swepte the ball home into the corner of the net after he was teed up with a short pass from Sudakov. That is a huge goal for Ukraine and probably Mudryk's most important goal of his career so far!

Ukraine 2-1 Iceland

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It's all over, Ukraine win 2-1 and again come from a goal down, just as they did against Bosnia, to win 2-1. Ukraine dominated the 2nd half in Poland, despite a couple of dangerous counter attacks from Iceland and they have earned their place at Euro 2024 in Germany! Tsyhankov and Mudryk were the heroes of the day with their goals and Tsyhankov really showed how important he is also to this team. He had an excellent game and vindicated the manager in starting him. I thought the manager Rebrov got the team selection and the tactics spot on for this game.

Final score: Ukraine 2-1 Iceland

 

Edited by Michael
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3 hours ago, Michael said:

Play-Off Finals Preview:

Georgia v Greece (Tbilisi, Georgia)

The Georgians will have home advantage in this match against a very tough Greek national team. Georgia will also have their star player Khvicha Kvaratskhelia back for this game, after the Napoli player missed Georgia's comfortable 2-0 win over Luxembourg in the play-off semi-finals. Karlsruhe striker Budu Zivzivadze scored both Georgia's goals against Luxembourg and he will be another player to watch against Greece. Watford's Giorgi Chakvetadze, Sturm Graz's Otar Kiteishvili and Levante's Giorgi Kochorashvili are key players in midfield for Georgia, while the goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili has excelled this season for Valencia and his saves could be key in helping Georgia advance to the Euros in this match.

The Greeks are a very solid side and are fresh from destroying Kazakhstan 5-0 in their semi-final play-off game. Panathinaikos forward Fotis Ioannidis who scored against Kazakhstan, will be their main forward up-front. Tasos Bakasetas of Panathinaikos and Dimitrios Pelkas of Istanbul Basaksehir will be who Greece look to, to create chances from midfield. Mavropanos of West Ham will marshall the central defence, while Liverpool's Tsimikas will be a key player at left-back. Keeper Vlachodimos of Notts Forest is a highly rated keeper who could also have an important contribution in this match.

I think that both sides are very equally matched, but I think home advantage could help Georgia shock Greece and advance to their first ever Euros. I tip Georgia to advance, very possibly on penalties.

Wales v Poland (Cardiff, Wales)

Wales host Poland in Cardiff. After Wales's demolition of Finland 4-1, they will be brimming with confidence against Poland. Brennan Johnson of Tottenham will probably be the key player up-front for Wales, although Kieffer Moore and Nathan Broadhead both of Ipswich Town and Daniel James of Leeds are other key options upfront . Harry Wilson, David Brooks, Ampadu and of course the experienced Aaron Ramsey will be important players in midfield. 

Poland who are the favourites, hammered Estonia 5-1 in their semi-final game. They come into this match as the favourites and the world class Lewandowski is bound to cause the Welsh defence all kinds of trouble today. Zielinski of Napoli, Zalewski of Roma, Frankowski of Lens and Szymanski of Fenerbace are all key players in midfield, who could really cause a real threat against the Welsh. Midfielder and ex-Fortuna Dusseldorf player Piotrowski has also impressed in recent matches, particularly with his long range shooting ability. Bednarek of Southampton and Kiwior of Arsenal are important players in defence. The experienced Szczesny of Juventus will be the keeper.

Although the Poles are the favourites for this match, I can see it going either way. Wales always seem to play well in Cardiff and they really get inspired by their extremely loud home support. This is another really difficult game to call in my opinion, as Wales could very well produce the surprise and defeat Poland in Cardiff. But I am just going to opt for Poland's fire-power to help them advance past Wales, despite the home advantage that Wales will have. I'll say Poland to win in extra-time, maybe by a 1-2 score-line.

Ukraine v Iceland (Wroclaw, Poland)

Ukraine who had that dramatic 2-1 win away to Bosnia a few days ago, will want an improved performance in this match. Ukraine showed character to score 2 goals in the 85th and 88th minutes of that match, but they will hope to score much earlier than that in today's game against Iceland. Key player Tsyhankov of Girona is still not fully fit and out of match practice, but he has made the squad in Poland. Whether he is deemed fit enough to play against Iceland is another story. So it seems that Ukraine will probably stick to the team that played against Bosnia, with the exception of maybe starting Yaremchuk alongside Dovbyk up-front. Zinchenko will likely start again for this game, despite still lacking match practice, as was evident with his performance against Bosnia. Mudryk and Sudakov will have a key role to play today, as they are the players that Ukraine will look to, in terms of creating chances today. The youngster Brazhko of Dynamo Kyiv, who made his debut against Bosnia in Ukraine's last match, will probably start again. Zabarnyi and Matviyenko will as usual be the central defence partnership, with Mykolenko at left-back and Konoplya of Shaktar Donetsk at right-back. Rebrov will very likely start Lunin of Real Madrid ahead of Trubin of Benfica again.

Iceland come into this match on the back of destroying Israel 4-1. Hattrick hero in that match Albert Gudmundsson of Genoa will lead the line again. He is reported to be wanted by Tottenham, such have his performances been impressive this season. So Ukraine will really need to stop him from scoring. The teen wonderkid Oskarsson of Copenhagen will also be one to look out for in Iceland's attack. Haraldsson of Lille, Hlynsson of Ajax, Johann Gudmundsson of Burnley, Isak Johannesson of Fortuna Dusseldorf and Ellertson of Venezia could all play a key role in midfield in this game. While Iceland's Brentford keeper Hakon Valdimarsson could have a very busy day today against the Ukrainians in Poland.

My prediction for this game is that Ukraine perform better than they did in their last match and win this game 2-1. The fact that this match will be played on neutral territory and that Ukraine will not be playing away, as they did against Bosnia, will benefit Ukraine. Tsyhankov's continued likely absence is a blow, but Ukraine have enough fire-power to really beat this very well organised Iceland team in Poland. It won't be easy, as Iceland are a really tough side, but I say that Ukraine's talent will earn them a 2-1 win and send them to the Euros in Germany

 

 

Got the Ukraine match prediction correct as well.) 

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Wales and Poland are really digging deep here in Cardiff, as we approach the end of the match. The Welsh fans have been loudly singing from start to finish. It's been a great atmosphere in Cardiff.

Wales 0-0 Poland

Edited by Michael
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Chris Mepham is sent off for Wales right at the end of the match, as he receives his 2nd booking for a bad challenge on Polish substitute Romanchuk. The referee though has also blown his whistle for full-time, so we go to penalties, just as what happened in the Georgia v Greece match.

Wales 0-0 Poland 

Lewandowski scores his penalty for Poland, sending Danny Ward the wrong way. 

Wales 0-1 Poland

Ben Davies scores his penalty for Wales, as his shot goes down the middle.

Wales 1-1 Poland

Szymanski scores his penalty with a powerful left footed shot.

Wales 1-2 Poland

Kieffer Moore scores his penalty as he smashes his shot against the cross-bar and down into the net.

Wales 2-2 Poland

Frankowski scores his penalty for Poland, as his shot finds the roof of the net.

Wales 2-3 Poland

Harry Wilson scores for Wales, sending the keeper the wrong way.

Wales 3-3 Poland

Zalewski's penalty find the corner of the net.

Wales 3-4 Poland

Neco Williams scores his penalty as he sends Szczesny the wrong way.

Wales 4-4 Poland

Piatek scores his penalty for Poland, as he sends Ward the wrong way.

Wales 4-5 Poland

Dan James has his penalty saved by Szczesny, as Poland advance and qualify for the Euros in Germany!

Poland defeat Wales on penalties!

Final score: Wales 0-0 Poland (Poland win 4-5 on penalties)

 

Edited by Michael
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