Euro 2020. Ukrainian national team confidently won the away team of Lithuania and strengthened leadership in the selection group

07.09.2019 22:49

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

In Vilnius, Andriy Shevchenko's team won for the fourth time in a row in the qualifying tournament for the European Championship.

The blue and yellows arrived in the Lithuanian capital as group leaders and clear favorites of the match. But, given the experience of previous meetings with the local team, the upcoming match did not seem easy. Especially considering that he had to pass on an artificial turf, to which the owners are accustomed. Many Ukrainian players had a negative experience of playing on artificial turf, in particular, for their clubs in the European Cup.

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

In the starting lineup of the blue-yellows noticed several changes compared to previous matches. Andriy Yarmolenko, who did not play for the national team for almost a year due to injury, finally returned to the national team. Right-back Bolbat appeared from the first minutes, who has been looking good for Shakhtar lately. At the same time, Konoplyanka and Karavaev, who do not have enough playing practice at the moment, were in reserve.

Despite the unusual coverage, the Ukrainian team from the first minutes established control of the ball and imposed its game on the opponent. The Lithuanians themselves contributed to this to some extent, assuming considerable marriage during broadcasts in simple situations. The advantage of the guests was embodied in a quick goal. Marlos, who acted in an unusual position in the midfield with a shift closer to the left flank, made a split pass into the home team's penalty area on Zinchenko, and Alexander easily beat the goalkeeper. 

The scored goal almost did not affect the picture of the game. Ukraine continued to keep things under control. The second goal was the result of successfully used pressing. The mistake of the home team was used by Marlos, who scored his debut goal for Ukraine. 0: 2.

In the second half, the blue and yellows continued to dominate the field. And without turning on the maximum speed, they managed to hold the hosts close to their goal for a long time, playing combinations even directly in the opponent's penalty area. One of the many moments was used by Malinowski, who struck a branded cannon shot in the bottom corner after Yaremchuk's throw.

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

Euro 2020. Qualifying Tournament. Group B

Lithuania - Ukraine - 0: 3 (0: 2)

Goals: Zinchenko (7), Marlos (27), Malinovskyi (62).

Lithuania: Zubas, Mikolunas, Girdweinis, Palionis, Vorobyovas, Shimkus, Verbitskas, Zulpa, Matulevicius (Kuklis, 63), Golubitskas (Slivka, 52), Chernih (k) (Lauksemis, 68).

Substitutions: Chernyauskas, Shetkus, Klimavicius, Jankauskas, Kazlauskas, Vaitkunas, Andryushkjavicus, Petrovicius, Baravikas.

Trainer: Valdas Urbanas.

Ukraine: Pyatov (k), Mykolenko, Kryvtsov, Matviyenko, Bolbat, Stepanenko, Malinovskyi (Bezus, 80), Yarmolenko (Tsyhankov, 60), Zinchenko, Marlos, Yaremchuk (Moraes, 65).  

Substitutions: Pankiv, Sobol, Burda, Konoplyanka, Plastun, Buyalskyi, Kovalenko, Karavayev, Lunin.

Trainer: Andrii Shevchenko.

Referee: Irfan Pelto (Bosnia and Herzegovina).

Booked: Mykolenko (73).

September 7th. Vilnius. LFF Stadium.

Standings

07.09.2019

Serbia - Portugal 21.45

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov