Ukraine coach Mykhaylo Fomenko has officially named his 23 member squad for Euro 2016, with teenager Oleksandr Zinchenko the surprise inclusion in the touring party. The 19 year old became the country’s youngest ever scorer when he netted in the 4-3 win over Romania over the weekend, thus breaking legendary forward Andriy Shevchenko’s two decade old record.
Interesting enough, Zinchenko, a reported transfer target for both Manchester City and Dortmund, plied his trade for Russian club FC UFA in 2015/16, but is expected to leave them this summer. Ukraine have recently appeared to follow an unofficial policy of not selecting Russian based players, given the tensions between the two countries.
Yevhen Seleznyov, a key player in qualifying, was left out of the initial squad after reportedly earning Fomenko’s wrath following a February move to Kuban Krasnodar, but has now moved back to Ukraine by joining Shakhtar, and has been named in the final list of 23.
Spirits in the Ukrainian camp will be very high ahead of the European Championships in France, having won all three of their friendlies so far. A much publicised dispute between teammates Andriy Yarmolenko and Taras Stepanenko, which saw the former kick out at the latter and both players sent off in a domestic fixture, threatened to disrupt preparations, but has been put to bed, with both players apologising to each other at a press conference.
33 year old veteran Oleg Gusev has been left out, meaning he will have to wait a little longer to see if he will make it to 100th caps for his country. Shakhtar duo Ivan Petryak and Maksym Malyshev have also been dropped from the provisional squad, as has Dynamo’s Artem Kravets, who scored just once whilst on loan at Stuttgart last season.
Most people, including former midfielder Yevhen Levchenko as he discussed his country’s chances in a recent interview, feel that the flamboyant talents of Yevhen Konoplyanka and the highly regarded Yarmolenko will be crucial to the Ukraine’s chances of getting out of the group. As will defender Yevhen Khacheridi, whose potential battle with Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski in the final group game could seal his nation’s fate.
Ukraine’s group consists of world champions Germany, Euro 2012 co-hosts Poland and debutants Northern Ireland. Fans will also be expecting a improved performance from the national side after they crashed out of Euro 2012 (held on home soil) at the group stage itself.
Shakhtar Donetsk are very well represented in the squad, with eight players from their ranks included in the final squad. As are champions Dynamo Kyiv, who have five representatives on the plane to France. Zorya and Dnipro contribute three players each, meaning 19 of the 23 ply their trade domestically.
Goalkeepers: Andriy Pyatov (Shakhtar Donetsk), Denys Boyko (Besiktas), Mykyta Shevchenko (Zorya Lugansk)
Defenders: Yevhen Khacheridi (Dynamo Kyiv), Artem Fedetskyi (Dnipro), Bohdan Butko, Oleksandr Kucher, Yaroslav Rakytskyi, Vyacheslav Shevchuk (All Shakhtar)
Midfielders: Yevhen Konoplyanka (Sevilla), Andriy Yarmolenko, Denys Garmash, Serhiy Sydorchuk, Serhiy Rybalka (All Dynamo), Victor Kovalenko, Taras Stepanenko (Both Shakhtar) Ruslan Rotan (Dnipro), Oleksandr Karavaev (Zorya), Oleksandr Zinchenko (FC UFA), Anatoliy Tymoschuk (Kairat)
Strikers: Roman Zozulya (Dnipro), Yevhen Seleznyov (Shakhtar), Pylyp Budkivskyi (Zorya)
Coach: Mykhaylo Fomenko
Ukraine 23 member Euro 2016 squad distribution by club
Shakhtar Donetsk – 8
Dynamo Kyiv – 5
Zorya – 3
Dnipro – 3
FC UFA – 1
Besiktas – 1
Sevilla – 1
Kairat – 1