You Not Say Ukraine Weak!

Greetings all, and welcome back to the Ukraine World Cup Blog. My name is Yevy, and in the near future I will be your host at the brand new Dynamo Kyiv Offside Blog. But for the moment, all eyes are on the start of European qualifying matches for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. On Saturday Ukraine will take on Belarus at the Ukraina Stadium in Lviv in the first match of its Group Six campaign. Come along for a closer look at the 2006 World Cup quarterfinalists after the jump.

Ukraine was in many ways the surprise European entry of the 2006 World Cup. Though not expected to advance out of a qualifying group headlined by Turkey and 2004 European Champions Greece, Ukraine progressed in convincing fashion. On September 3, 2005 they becoming the first European team to punch their ticket to Germany. Despite a 0-4 loss to Spain in their first match of the World Cup, Ukraine defeated Saudi Arabia and Tunisia to reach the knockout stage. After outlasting a tough Switzerland side on penalties, Ukraine joined the likes of Argentina, Brazil, France, England, Germany, Italy, and Portugal in the last eight. Even a 0-3 exit at the hands of the eventual champions could not ruin what was undoubtedly the high water mark for Ukrainian football.

Ukraine’s performance in Germany raised expectations for the team, and failure to qualify for the 2008 European Championship was seen as a step backwards. There’s little shame in finishing behind World Cup finalists, but unconvincing performances against the likes of Georgia and Lithuania, and the eventual fourth place finish behind Scotland left little room for optimism. Coach Oleg Blokhin resigned and was replaced by his old Dynamo teammate Oleksiy Mykhaylichenko, then Ukraine’s U-21 coach. This was not the first time Mykhaylichenko had to step into the shoes of a legend, having taken over the reigns at Dynamo following the passing of Valery Lobanovsky in 2002. The former Glasgow Rangers midfielder faces an uphill battle to lead Ukraine to South Africa out of a difficult Group Six.

With only the group winner guaranteed to advance, Ukraine will have to negotiate their way past Croatia and England if they hope to avoid the uncertainties of the play-offs. However it would be a mistake to overlook their first opponents, Belarus, as they are fully capable of stealing points from the favorites. Ukraine has faced Belarus five times, including twice during the 2002 World Cup Qualifying, where Ukraine earned a 2-0 victory in Minsk, but were held to a scoreless draw in Kiev. Belarus are coached by Bernd Stange, a German national who should be familiar to UPL fans for his stints with Dnepr and Arsenal (CSKA) Kyiv in the late 1990s. Barcelona midfielder Alexander Hleb and Parma forward Vitali Kutuzov lead a squad that primarily plays their football in Russia, Belarus, or Ukraine.

How will aging strikers Andriy Shevchenko and Andriy Voronin respond following their recent club moves? Will fresh out of Mykhaylichenko’s doghouse Dynamo playmaker Oleksandr Aliyev get his first taste of international play? Will Ukraine get the full points to put their qualifying campaign on the right track? All will be revealed on Saturday at 18:00 GMT.