Ukraine striker Yevhen Seleznyov. (Photo : Getty Images)
Ukraine (0-1-0, 0 points) and Northern Ireland (0-1-0, 0 points) both lost their opening games in the 2016 UEFA European Championship and they are raring to bounce back as the two teams face each other at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais in Lyon on June 16, Thursday.
Both have yet to score a goal in the competitions as well and so it is expected that they will try to find their offensive grooves in this meeting.
Ukraine, currently ranked 19th in the world by FIFA, was blanked by reigning World Cup champions Germany, 0-2, in their opener at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq on Sunday, Goal reported.
Valencia defender Shkodran Mustafi opened the scoring for the star-studded Germans at the 19th minute off an assist by Real Madrid defensive midfielder Toni Kroos. Die Mannschaft doubled their lead in injury time as Manchester United's Bastian Schweinsteiger netted one.
Head coach Mykhaylo Fomenko's boys were unable to break the mighty German defense all throughout the match even as they controlled much of the tempo especially in the first half.
Meanwhile, world no. 25 Northern Ireland was nipped by a Robert Lewandowski-led Poland side, 0-1, also on Sunday at the Allianz Riviera in Nice, as per BBC Sport.
The Green and White Army played remarkable defense in the match but they were not able to touch their opponents' net as well. Ajax forward Arkadiusz Milik scored the lone goal in the contest at the 51st minute from a cross by teammate Jakub Blaszczykowski of Fiorentina.
Poland was relentless in their attack as they had control of ball possession almost the entire game, but it was the defense of head coach Michael O'Neill's boys that saved them from a lopsided loss.
It was the first major international tournament for Norn Iron since the 1986 World Cup and so it was expected that they will be anxious in their first game.
The predicted result is a 1-0 decision for Ukraine. Ukraine and Northern Ireland are both great defensive squads and so a low-scoring game is anticipated. There is also the possibility of ending in a goalless draw.
Ukraine starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Pyatov; Fedetskiy, Khacheridi, Rakitskiy, Shevchuk; Sydorchuk, Stepanenko; Yarmolenko, Kovalenko, Konoplyanka; Zozulya
Northern Ireland starting lineup (3-5-1-1 formation): McGovern; Cathcart, McAuley, Evans; McLaughlin, McNair, Baird, Norwood, Ferguson; Davis; Lafferty
