Ukraine Betting

There is very little history to speak of with regards to Ukraine's history within the realm of international football. Though a team existed between the 1920s and 30s, all Ukrainian players inevitably found themselves playing under the domain of the USSR. After the Soviet Union disbanded and Ukraine achieved independence in 1991, the majority of their best players, including the likes of Andrei Kanchelskis, declared themselves for Russia after it was announced they would directly replace the USSR. The Ukrainians were left out in the cold, and though a national side was formed in 1992 they were unable to compete in qualification for the World Cup of 1994.

Indeed, prior to 2006 the Ukrainians had failed to reach the finals of any major international tournament, suffering defeat in the playoffs on no less than three occasions. Their sole international finals appearance was a resounding success, when they managed to reach the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup, losing to eventual winners Italy. They missed out on Euro 2008 and World Cup 2010, so will be thankful that as hosts of Euro 2012 they qualify automatically, and will be the sole nation making their European Championship finals debut in 2012.

Their recent form is difficult to judge; they haven’t played a competitive match for some time now which could prove detrimental, and their friendly performances have been patchy at best, with victories over Bulgaria, Estonia and Austria interspersed with defeats to Sweden and Uruguay, though a 3-3 draw at home to Germany in November inspires some optimism. 2004 Ballon d'Or winner Andriy Shevchenko continues to captain the side at the ripe old age of 35, whilst midfielder Serhiy Nazarenko also stands out with 12 goals in 47 international appearances.

Ukraine are 50/1 to lift the trophy, with the bookies placing them ahead of more established footballing nations such as Croatia and the Czech Republic. They have been drawn in Group D along with England, France and Sweden, and home advantage gives the 5/1 to win the group a certain appeal. The home faithful will take straightforward qualification to the quarter-finals, priced at 11/8, in a flash.

Squad:
Manager: Oleh Blokhin
1 Maksym Koval (G, 19, Dynamo Kyiv)
2 Yevhen Selin (D, 24, Vorskla Poltava)
3 Yevhen Khacheridi (D, 24, Dynamo Kyiv)
4 Anatoliy Tymoshchuk (M, 33, Bayern Munich)
5 Oleksandr Kucher (D, 29, Shakhtar Donetsk)
6 Denys Harmash (M, 22, Dynamo Kyiv)
7 Andriy Shevchenko (c) (F, 35, Dynamo Kyiv)
8 Oleksandr Aliyev (M, 27, Dynamo Kyiv)
9 Oleh Husyev (M, 29, Dynamo Kyiv)
10 Andriy Voronin (F, 32, Dynamo Moscow)
11 Andriy Yarmolenko (F, 22, Dynamo Kyiv)
12 Andriy Pyatov (G, 27, Shakhtar Donetsk)
13 Vyacheslav Shevchuk (D, 33, Shakhtar Donetsk)
14 Ruslan Rotan (M, 30, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk)
15 Artem Milev