Captain Andriy Shevchenko will lead the co-hosts of Euro 2012 in what will likely be his final international tournament.
It will be Ukraine’s debut at the European Championships, and Oleh Blokhin’s side have played a string of friendlies in preparation, with varying success.
Draws with the Netherlands and Poland came at the start of the long road to the tournament in the Autumn of 2010. Defeat to Brazil came before penalty shoot-out wins over Romania and Sweden in February 2011.
Five defeats out of six then followed, as Italy, France, Sweden, Uruguay and the Czech Republic all eased past the hosts, who were still combating fears that stadiums and infrastructure wouldn’t be ready for the summer of 2012.
Their form has improved, though, as victories over Bulgaria, Estonia, Austria and Israel came either side of a notable draw with much-fancied Germany.
Tags: Euro 2012, Ukraine national team
