Football. ua presents the announcement of the qualifying match of the 2018 World Cup for the ninth round in Group I between the national teams of Kosovo and Ukraine.
Despite the apparent ease of the upcoming match, the Ukrainian team will have to work hard to get the much needed three points.
Kosovo - Ukraine Friday, October 6, 21:45. Shkoder (Albania), Loro Borici. Arbitrator - Craig Powson (England). Live broadcast on TV channels Ukraine and Football 1 Defeat in Iceland does not leave options for the Ukrainian national team in a duel against Kosovo - victory or. However, it is better not to think about "or". Despite the fact that the current rival of the team of Andrey Shevchenko is an absolute outsider of our qualifying group, there can be no question of underestimation of debutants of qualifying tournaments.
The Kosovars have several qualified players, and although the coach is already starting to prepare his team for future tournaments, and the situation with personnel losses due to injuries does not add optimism to the hosts, sometimes strange and even shocking things happen in football.
The team of Ukraine also did not escape losses: Butko, Tsygankov and Rakitsky were injured, Kovalenko and Zinchenko were disqualified, and Marlos, who recently joined the team, because of problems with the documents, spent more time on organizational issues than on preparing for the match in Albania.
All the same, the coach of our team will certainly be able to find the optimal squad in order not only to beat the uncomfortable opponent, like all Balkan teams, but also, if possible, to improve the difference of goals scored and conceded. After all, depending on the results of the matches Croatia - Finland, Turkey - Iceland and the fights of the final round, this figure can be decisive for the final distribution of seats in the standings.
Words by Andriy Shevchenko, coach of the Ukrainian national team:.
"We will have two finals, and the first is with Kosovo. The mood for both the first and second game against Croatia should be very high. I hope everyone will understand this.. The task is to win. I expect that the match will be difficult, because for the team of Kosovo this is a principled game. The Kosovo team plays with the utmost dedication, despite who is the rival. This is a very young team that is in a state of becoming, every game is important to them. I know their character, they are stubborn guys, they have a good game organization. We respect each opponent with respect, the Kosovars deserve respect for the return and diligence ".
Albert Bunyaki, coach of the national team of Kosovo:.
"I think the national team of Kosovo will not be easy. We will meet with one of four teams that are fighting for an exit at the 2018 World Cup. At the moment we are the youngest national team in the world, and tomorrow for us will not play six major players. If tomorrow the Ukrainian team wins, then it will be logical.
We have a very strong rival, the national team of Ukraine - one of the strongest teams in the world. At least, we were more difficult to play against Ukrainians than against Croatia ".
The indicative composition of Kosovo: Uykani - Voyvoda, Rrahmani, Jashanitsa, Pakarada - Pnisi, Krujesu, Avdizhay, Rashitsa, Halimi - Nykhiu.
Ukraine: Pyatov - Karavaev, Khacheridi, Ordets, Matvienko - Rotan, Stepanenko - Yarmolenko, Garmash, Konoplyanka - Kravets.
forecast 0: 2.