Our prediction for this Euro 2020 match:
Arena Nationala in Bucharest will host Thursday’s football game between Ukraine and North Macedonia. The Ukrainians were on the verge of sharing the spoils with Netherlands in their opener, but the Oranje eventually picked up all three points from the match thanks to Denzel Dumfries’ late goal. A man to keep an eye on in Andriy Shevchenko’s team will be Andriy Yarmolenko, who scored a wonder goal in the defeat to Netherlands.
Viktor Tsygankov remains on the sidelines with a muscle injury, while Oleksandr Zubkov is rated doubtful for the second group game. The Macedonians, on the other hand, experienced all sorts of problems at the back in a 3-1 loss to Austria, which is yet another reason why we are tempted to put our money on the Oranje, who showed character in the Johan Cruijff Arena showdown. North Macedonia boss Igor Angelovski should have a full squad to choose from.
Highlighted Player (Andriy Yarmolenko):
Arguably the most exciting Ukrainian player at the moment, Andriy Yarmolenko is the 26-year-old forward, who can play wide as a winger and fill in numerous positions in attack. Over the past few years there has been a gathering feeling that the player has outgrown the Ukrainian League and that with the player surpassing the 200-game mark for Dynamo Kyiv Yarmolenko should be heading west to Europe’s brighter stage.
Wanted and scouted by Spanish giants Barcelona, Yarmolenko attracted interest from many other clubs, predominantly from the Premier League, and was even close to joining Everton in summer 2016, but the Goodison outfit’s offer came too late to the Ukrainian club.
Talented forward is a free-scoring machine who has already scored more than 115 goals for the club he spent his entire career with. The two-footed winger is equally adept through the middle and is a versatile force that would be a good addition to any self-respecting European side.
Yarmolenko made hi Ukraine debut in 2009 and has so far been capped 63 times, during which he scored 26 goals for the national set-up.
Highlighted Team (North Macedonia):
Former Yugoslavian republic North Macedonia became member of both FIFA and UEFA in 1994 and they have been competing on the international stage ever since. The Crveni Risovi rolled over Slovenia (4-1) in their first ever official match and the team recorded their biggest win on November 9, 11996, with the team crushing minnows Liechtenstein 11-1 in Eschen-Mauren.
The North Macedonians have yet to qualify for the finals of a major tournament despite the fact that several high-profile footballers played for the former Yugoslav republic. Goran Pandev is undisputedly the team’s most notable player as he played for the likes of Lazion, Inter, Napoli and Galatasaray during his professional career.
Pandev scored his 28th and 29th goal for North Macedonia in a 3-0 win over Belarus in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. However, Goce Seldloski is the most capped player (100). North Macedonia welcome their rivals at Philip II Arena and they wear red shirts with yellow stripe and red shorts when playing at home ground. The colour of their away kits is white.