Blokhin names Squad!!

February 13th, 2006 | By: James | No Comments »

Woah, Woah!! Don’t get too excited there Oleh Blokhin hasn’t named his squad for the World Cup this summer just yet, it’s a bit early for that, but the squad for the friendly against Azerbaijan on February 28.

Goalkeepers: Bohdan Shust (Shakhtar), Viacheslav Kernozenko (Dnipro)

Defenders: Serhiy Fedorov, Vladyslav Vaschuk, Andriy Nesmachny (all - Dynamo), Andriy Rusol, Volodymyr Yezersky (both - Dnipro), Viacheslav Svidersky (Arsenal Kyiv)

Midfielders: Ruslan Rotan, Oleh Husiev (both - Dynamo), Anatoliy Tymoschuk (Shakhtar), Andriy Husyn (Krylya Sovetov, RUS), Oleh Shelaiev, Serhiy Nazarenko (both - Dnipro), Maxym Kalynychenko (Spartak, Russia), Olexander Kucher (Metalist)

Forwards: Andriy Shevchenko (AC Milan, ITA), Andriy Voronin (Bayer Leverkusen, GER), Andriy Vorobei, Olexiy Bielik (both - Shakhtar), Serhiy Rebrov (Dynamo), Serhiy Serebrennikov

There are aren’t really any surprises in there but it’s a valuable opportunity for Blokhin to get his squad together and begin to finalise his plans for Ukraine’s assault on the World Cup this summer.

Azerbaijan should prove a good test for Ukraine in preparation for when they face Saudi Arabia and Tunisia in the group stages in Germany. I expect Ukraine to get through this game without too many difficulties but I wouldn’t underestimate Azerbaijan, especially if Blohkin decides to experiment a little. We need to put in a good performance and hopefully get the right result so we can begin to gain momentum leading up to that little tournament in Germany you may of heard about.