A third place finish in Group C of the qualifiers saw Ukraine fight it out with Slovenia in the play-offs for the group stages.
They went through with an aggregate 3-1 score after two legs and were drawn in a tricky Group C alongside Germany, Poland and Northern Ireland.
They are a decent team that are hard to beat and have a good enough chance of qualifying to the knock-out stage of the competition.
Ukraine’s Euro 2016 Squad:
Manager: Mykhailo Fomenko
Goalkeepers: Andriy Pyatov (Shakhtar Donetsk), Denys Boyko (Besiktas), Mykyta Shevchenko (Zorya)
Defenders: Artem Fedetskiy (Dnipro), Mykyta Kamenyuka (Zorya), Vyacheslav Shevchuk (Shakhtar Donetsk), Oleksandr Kucher (Shakhtar Donetsk), Yaroslav Rakytskyi (Shakhtar Donetsk), Yevhen Khacheridi (Dynamo Kiev)
Midfielders: Anatoliy Tymoschuk (Kairat Almaty), Oleksandr Karavaev (Zorya), Ivan Petryak (Zorya), Oleg Gusev (Dynamo Kiev), Andriy Yarmolenko (Dynamo Kiev), Denys Garmash (Dynamo Kiev), Serhiy Sydorchuk (Dyamo Kiev), Serhiy Rybalka (Dynamo Kiev), Taras Stepanenko (Shakhtar Donetsk), Viktor Kovalenko (Shakhtar Donetsk), Maksym Malyshev (Shakhtar Donetsk), Yevhen Shakhov (Dnipro), Ruslan Rotan (Dnipro), Yevhen Konoplyanka (Sevilla).
Forwards: Artem Kravets (Stuttgart), Pylyp Budkovskyi (Zorya), Roman Zozulya (Dnipro), Yevhen Seleznyov (Shakhtar Donetsk)
Most of the players featuring in Ukraine’s Euro 2016 squad are vastly experienced and will surely help the team in tough times.
The likes of Vyacheslav Shevchuk, who is 36 years old will play important roles in the side’s fortunes in the competition.
Whereas most of the mid-field players are at the peak of their abilities leaving the coach of the side with plenty of headaches before choosing the starting XI.
Key Players:
Yevhen Konoplyanka – One of the most exciting youngsters in Ukrainian football, Konoplyanka is one of the hottest prospects in Europe at the moment.
Playing in the La Liga, Konoplyanka has helped the Sevilla side to a Europa League victory recently and is full of confidence going into this competition.
Playing as a winger, the 26-year old is quick on his feet and having scored twice already, knows this way to the back of the net making him a dangerous player for Ukraine.
Andriy Yarmolenko – Yet another winger who loves to attack, the 26-year old Dynamo Kiev starlet has been on fire for the domestic club this season.
He has been a treat to watch throughout the season and is full of confidence to help his side in the final competitions in France.
He has already scored 6 goals, more than any other player in the team playing every game for the side in the competition and is the biggest threat in front of goal for the Ukraine side.
Wildcard:
Artem Kravets – With not many impact players on the substitute bench for Fomenko, Kravets, the young attacking option from Dynamo Kiev will play a huge role in Ukraine’s Euro 2016 campaign.
He is more than a capable replacement for most players in the team and if he can live up to his expectations, he can easily become a potent weapon for the side in the group stage.
Tactical Setup
Coach Mykhailo Fomenko is known to have his team play some high octane football hurrying his oppositions into mistakes and taking advantage of any sloppiness from the opponents.
They are predominantly dependent on the wingers Yarmolenko and Konoplyanka who love to stretch play to give their team-mates more space in the middle of the pitch.
They are a team who loves to score from counter attacks and will set-up likewise in France.
Fixtures:
Germany (June 12), Northern Ireland (June 16), Poland (June 21)
How far can they go?
With Germany hot favorites to not only top the group but go all the way, Ukraine, Poland and Northern Ireland will have to fight for the remaining place in the group.
Poland have some serious talent in their ranks while Ireland are in good form.
But Ukraine have proven hard to beat in recent times and can easily stay strong and pull the group down till the very last match to decide their qualification.
Image Credit: Getty, Lineupbuilder
