Ukraine – Malta

Ukrainians will win three points, but do not expect a defeat

On 19 June, Ukraine will play Malta in their Euro 2024 qualifying match. England lead Group C with nine points from three games, followed by Italy, Ukraine and Northern Macedonia with three points each from two games. The Maltese are in last place. For Ukraine, the trip to Skopje to face Northern Macedonia was far more difficult than one might have guessed. "The Yellow and Blue had a poor first half and went into halftime trailing 2-0. But the visitors managed to create a comeback. Viktor Tsygankov and Mykhailo Mudryk contributed two goals. Thanks to their efforts, Zabarny and Konoplya netted the equalizer. In addition, Tsygankov netted the winning goal, with an assist from a Chelsea player. However, North Macedonia's suspension helped. There were quite a lot of bad moments in the game of the Ukraine national team. The defensive line failed. Only Ilya Zabarniy was the exception in the starting line-up, while everyone else, in particular Mykola Matviyenko, played very poorly. The Shakhtar defender has made so many errors over the past two games under Serhiy Rebrov that he can sit out the game with Malta. If some players have a lot of complaints, Serhiy Rebrov does not. The coach found the right words at half-time and tuned the team. Substitutions helped a lot. In the end, the coach gave the necessary result, which is important to build on with a victory over Malta. There was a noticeable slump in the Maltese encounter. The team lost in the 1st round to Northern Macedonia (1-2), then lost to Italy (0-2). The meeting with England at the weekend ended with Malta's defeat. The only other head-to-head game between Ukraine and Malta ended in a 1-0 win for the visitors. Yes, the Maltese are a very weak side, but the Ukrainian team make a lot of mistakes. Even the Maltese team can be punished for their mistakes. Previously, the Ukraine national team had a productive friendly against Germany (3-3), and then, within the framework of the Euro 2024 selection, narrowly defeated Northern Macedonia (3-2). Rebrov's team wasted a lot of energy. Malta will certainly not be a whipping boy. If Ukraine win, it will not be by a landslide. The visitors will not play with their hands down. It's worth betting on a Malta win with a handicap (+2.5).