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In today's match at 10:00 PM Lithuanian time in the World Cup's sixth round of the knockout stage, the highly praised Switzerland team will meet the very talented Ukrainian footballers.
Round of 16, Switzerland - Ukraine Stadium: RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne Time: 10:00 PM Lithuanian time Referee: Benito Archundia (Mexico)
These two teams had different performances in the group stage. Ukraine started the World Cup with a shameful 4-0 loss to Spain. However, they bounced back in the following matches, defeating Saudi Arabia with the same score and narrowly beating Tunisia in their crucial debut match at the World Cup.
Meanwhile, Switzerland began the tournament with a draw against the 1998 World Cup champions France. They followed up with convincing wins over Togo and South Korea, both with a score of 2-0.
It is worth mentioning that Switzerland, who promote team play, is the only team that has not conceded a goal in the first three matches.
Previous meetings These teams have not met before.
Before the match "Reaching the quarterfinals is a huge achievement for Ukrainian football," said Ukraine's team leader Andriy Shevchenko. "Even after the loss to Spain, we believed in our strength."
Although for most fans this round of 16 may not be as exciting as others, Ukraine's coach Oleg Blokhin disagrees: "Any team that reaches the top 16 is obviously good."
Switzerland's coach Kobi Kuhn admitted that he is preparing the young team for the 2008 European Championships, which Switzerland will co-host with Austria. However, despite satisfying many Swiss fans, Kuhn does not plan to limit himself to reaching the quarterfinals.
"I want us to go further - there we can learn more," said Kuhn. "We are still here and will face another team. We can still advance to the next stage, and that is a great achievement, great motivation for us."
Kuhn singled out Ukraine's best player, Andriy Shevchenko, as a key player to watch.
Team news Switzerland suffers a major loss - central defender Philippe Senderos, who dislocated his shoulder in the match against South Korea, will not play against Ukraine and likely will be out for at least five weeks.
He is expected to be replaced in the starting lineup by his teammate from Arsenal, Johan Djourou. The 19-year-old defender, born in the Ivory Coast, replaced Senderos when he got injured.
Forward Daniel Gygax is expected to play despite a muscle strain.
Among Ukraine's ranks, we will certainly not see Vyacheslav Sviderskiy and Andriy Rusol, who have two yellow cards each and are suspended. One of them was supposed to be replaced by Dmytro Chygrynskiy, who is injured and is unlikely to appear in the tournament.
It is also unclear whether Volodymyr Yezersky, who suffered a minor injury, will be able to play.
Possible lineups Switzerland (4-5-1): Pascal Zuberbuehler; Ludovic Magnin, Johann Djourou, Patrick Mueller, Philipp Degen; Raphael Wicky, Johann Vogel, Ricardo Cabanas, Hakan Yakin, Tranquillo Barnetta; Alex Frei.
Ukraine (4-4-2): Oleksandr Shovkovsky; Volodymyr Yezersky, Vladyslav Vashchuk, Andriy Nesmachny; Oleg Gusev, Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, Oleg Shelayev, Maxym Kalynychenko, Serhiy Rebrov; Andriy Shevchenko, Andriy Voronin.
