Belgium – Ukraine

Ukrainian national team will hold the advantage gained in the first match

The first match for the right to play in League A of the next Nations League between Ukraine and Belgium took place on Thursday. De Bruyne and company got into this situation following the results of the group stage of the current tournament, where they faced Italy and France. These teams immediately claimed their rights to the top two positions in the quartet and sent the Belgians to fight with Israel for survival in the elite division. The then Tedesco's wards coped with the task with great difficulty, taking third place only on goal difference in head-to-head meetings. Ukraine, on the contrary, in the company of the Czech Republic, Georgia and Albania, lost only to the first, ensuring a finish in the second position of the quartet. "Yellow-Blue" have played in League A before, so they have such experience and are not afraid of the upcoming opponent. The first match fully demonstrated it. Despite the fact that the Ukrainians found themselves in a losing position at the end of the first half, in Belgian Genk they managed to produce a second half that stunned Rudi Garcia's wards. In the middle of that 45-minute period, Gutsulyak, Vanat and Zabarny each scored a goal, allowing the Belgians to show nothing in return. The 3-1 win leaves Ukraine with a good chance of making the play-offs. Bookmakers have identified the hosts as the favourites for the upcoming game, offering odds of 1.44 on their victory. Despite the analysts' blind faith in Belgium's star-studded squad, the defeat against the Ukrainians was the fourth consecutive defeat for this team and extended their winless streak to six games. It is unlikely that the Belgian national team has been as bad in recent decades as it has become after almost two years of Domenico Tedesco's reign. The legacy Garcia inherited two months ago now resembles a disjointed set of expensive players who do not know how and even, to some extent, do not try to interact with each other on a quality level. The Ukraine national team has far fewer star players, but Serhiy Rebrov has put together a very decent team in the broad sense of the word. Now the Ukrainians have a five-match unbeaten streak and have no intention of giving up their place in Liga A.