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In this match, the favorites of Group H, the national teams of Spain and Ukraine, will meet, so it can be said that the winner of the match would theoretically secure the first place in the group. However, we should not underestimate the national teams of Saudi Arabia and Tunisia (especially after the matches between the teams of Sweden and Trinidad and Tobago), who will clarify their relationship at 19:00.
Spain - Ukraine Match start: 16:00 (Lithuanian time) Stadium: Zentralstadion, Leipzig Referee: Massimo Busacca (Switzerland)
Summary of the teams' performance in the qualifiers The Spaniards did well in the qualifiers: they won five games and played five draws to finish second in their group, so they had to play extra matches with the Slovakian national team. The first match ended in a 5-1 result, with Luis Garcia scoring three goals in this match. The second match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Ukraine was the first European team to secure a place in the World Cup.
Teams' preparation for the World Cup Spain March 1, 2006 Spain 3-2 Ivory Coast The visitors were ahead twice, but the Spaniards managed to equalize, and with 4 minutes left to play, Juanito Gutierrez scored the winning goal.
May 27, 2006 Spain 0-0 Russia The Spaniards failed to find gaps in the Russian defense.
June 3, 2006 Spain 2-0 Egypt Raul scored the first goal for Egypt, later doubling the score with a penalty kick from Jose Antonio Reyes. Spain extended their unbeaten streak to 21 games.
June 7, 2006 Spain 2-1 Croatia Fernando Torres scored the winning goal against Croatia to advance to the World Cup finals. Prior to that, Pablo scored an own goal. Mariano Pernia made his debut in this match.
Ukraine February 28, 2006 Azerbaijan 0-0 Ukraine The visitors failed to defeat the seemingly modest hosts. Maksym Kalinichenko came closest to scoring when his shot flew past the post after a deflection.
May 28, 2006 Ukraine 4-0 Costa Rica Even without Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine looked unbeatable against Costa Rica. The score was already 3-0 after the first half. Sergey Nazarenko, Andriy Vorobey, and Maksym Kalinichenko each scored a goal, with Alexey Belik adding the last goal in the second half.
June 2, 2006 Italy 0-0 Ukraine Italy extended their unbeaten streak to 18 games against a defensively solid Ukraine, with star player Andriy Shevchenko watching from the bench.
June 5, 2006 Ukraine 3-0 Libya Ukraine's fans were pleased with their team's performance in the penultimate warm-up match. Vladimir Yezersky scored the first goal in the 49th minute, followed by Alexey Belik and Andriy Vorobey.
June 8, 2006 Luxembourg 0-3 Ukraine In this match after a month-long break, Ukraine's captain Andriy Shevchenko appeared and managed to score one of three goals.
Head-to-head meetings The teams met twice during the 2004 European Championship qualifiers. The first match in Kiev ended in a 2-2 draw, while Spain won the second match 2-1.
Statistics and facts Spain In Germany, Spain has one of the strongest defensive lines. It is so strong that "Valencia" star Ruben Baraja and his teammate Vicente were not called up to the national team, causing concern for coach Luis Aragones. However, the team's weaknesses are in attack and defense. Only Carles Puyol can be called a world-class player in defense. Although there are famous forwards in the team, they are not in their best form this year. Fans of Real Madrid and Valencia will agree that the goalkeepers are prone to mistakes, causing considerable concern.
The best performance in recent years was in the 1994 World Cup, where the team reached the quarter-finals but lost 2-1 to the Swiss team. The worst performance was in the 1998 World Cup in France, where they failed to advance to the next stage. In the 2002 World Cup quarter-finals, Spain was eliminated by South Korea, who won the penalty shootout 5-3.
FIFA Ranking: 5
Ukraine While Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, Ukrainian players often formed the backbone of the USSR national team. The Ukrainian national team played its first official match, which ended in a 2-2 draw, against Hungary in April 1992. Until 1994, the team did not participate in the qualifiers for the European or World Cup. This is Ukraine's first World Cup.
The Ukrainian national team consists of experienced and talented players, so the team has excellent chances of reaching the next stage, especially since Spain is the only real competitor in their group.
FIFA Ranking: 45
Injured players Ukraine's captain Andriy Shevchenko is feeling well, but will decide whether to take the field after talking to the coach.
On the Spanish side, Michel Salgado has not fully recovered from a thigh muscle strain. Although he played one half in a friendly match against the Croatian national team, he will most likely miss this match. There are also doubts about the current form of Raul and Xavi, as they missed most of the season due to cruciate ligament injuries.
Players' and coaches' thoughts before the match Spanish national team coach Luis Aragones uses his strong personality and mischievous sense of humor to keep the players focused during the long waiting period before the match against Ukraine. This was revealed by Michel Salgado at a press conference on Monday.
"It's no wonder that nothing good is expected from us in Spain, as we have never shown good results in the World Cup," - with such a comment, the Spanish national team coach seems to suggest that history needs to be changed this time.
"We can be champions. A soldier who does not want to become a general is not a good soldier," - Ukrainian national team coach Oleg Blokhin paraphrased Napoleon Bonaparte's words.
Ukrainian national team captain Andriy Shevchenko spoke respectfully about the future opponents: "I work with the team and feel good. The Spanish team is well-assembled. They are clear favorites in the group."
Predicted starting lineups: Spain (4-3-3): 1-Iker Casillas; 15-Sergio Ramos, 5-Carles Puyol, 22-Pablo Ibanez, 3-Mariano Pernia; 16-Marcos Senna, 14-Xabi Alonso, 8-Xavi; 11-Luis Garcia, 9-Fernando Torres, 21-David Villa. Coach: Luis Aragones
Ukraine (4-4-2): 1-Oleksander Shovkovsky; 5-Volodymir Yezersky, 6-Andriy Rusol, 17-Vladislav Vashchyuk, 2-Andriy Nesmachny; 14-Andriy Husin, 4-Anatoly Tymoshchyuk, 8-Oleg Shelayev, 21-Ruslan Rotan; 11-Serhiy Rebrov, 20-Olexiy Belik Coach: Oleg Blokhin
