Ukraine’s national football team will face Northern Ireland in the Nations League on November 14 without two players, Mykola Shaparenko and Valerii Bondar. Head coach Andrea Maldera has also decided who will start in goal.
Andrea Maldera announced this at a pre-match press conference.
Midfielder Mykola Shaparenko will miss the game because he is feeling unwell, while defender Valerii Bondar will sit out due to fatigue after a heavy run of matches.
“Anatolii Trubin will start tomorrow. We still have one more training session, but my plan is to put him in goal. As for the other players, Mykola Shaparenko is not feeling well. Valerii Bondar is also a little tired after playing so many matches recently. Those are all our absences; everyone else is ready to play,” Maldera said.
According to Suspilne Sport, 25 players were initially called up to Ukraine’s squad for the November fixtures, but the coaching staff later had to make changes.
Oleksandr Zubkov was unable to join the team due to injury. Mykola Shaparenko and Vladyslav Vanat were subsequently called up. Artem Dovbyk, a striker for Italian club Bologna, was also brought into the squad in place of Ponomarenko.
Ukraine’s goalkeepers have alternated in previous Nations League matches. Dmytro Riznyk played against Hungary (1–0) and Northern Ireland (0–3), while Anatolii Trubin started against Georgia (0–0) and Hungary (1–2).
When are Ukraine’s next matches?
- November 14, 21:45 — Northern Ireland vs Ukraine.
- November 17, 21:45 — Ukraine vs Georgia.
After four rounds, Ukraine sit third in their Nations League group. The group winners will be promoted directly to League A. The second-placed team will enter the promotion play-offs, while the bottom team will be relegated to a lower division.
On October 2, Ukraine lost 3–0 to Northern Ireland in a nominal home Nations League match played in Trnava, Slovakia.
