Ukraine vs. Greece – Last chance for Shevchenko!
Ukraine and Greece head into the 2nd leg encounter after a goalless draw at Athens. Ukraine’s’ captain Andry Shevchenko knows that this is the last chance for him for a final World Cup appearance and it’s the best occasion to earn the qualification berth in front of the home fans.
A nerve tingling encounter awaits the Olympic Stadium in Donetsk as a solitary goal by either of the two teams will seal a berth. Ukraine had been the better team in terms of attacking in the previous leg where they created enough chances and were adventurous throughout the match. They would be looking to repeat the 2006 WC qualifying feat which was achieved by beating the same opponents.
However, the home record has been quite outstanding from Ukraine who has not conceded at home since the month of June. Ukraine is expected to have a go into the defensive setup of Greece and Andry Shevchenko will have enough support from Artem Milevskiy and Oleg Gusev. There have been injury concerns over defender Yaroslav Rakitskiy and flu affected Grigory Yarmash.
On the other hand, Greece has but few chances and Otto Rehhagel is worried over the fitness issues of Sotiris Kyrgiakos and Giorgos Karagounis. However the coach has been under immense criticism due to his defensive tactics and fielding an extra defender as marker for Shevchenko. It’s time however to create chances and the Greek coach will have to look for more attacking options if Greece has to have any chance of qualification.
The betting odds do favor Ukraine at home and it would be an exciting game which will showcase the Greek defensive tactics against Ukraine’s sharp attacking front. But Ukraine are clearly the favorites as they usually play in a more attacking style of football in comparison to Greece’s counter attack and ultra defensive football.
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So Greece prevail, which is fitting for the prior European champions. Unfortunately for their citizens, betting on the World Cup isn’t so simple, because the EU refuses to allow an open gambling market, they have no choice who to bet through. This means extortionate value in terms of short odds, which consumers in no other industry put up with.