Nations League: Can Ukraine get revenge against Northern Ireland in Belfast?
Kyiv • UNN
On November 14, Ukraine will play group leaders Northern Ireland in Belfast. The match will begin at 21:45, with the hosts being the favorites.
On Sunday, November 14, Ukraine’s national team will face Group 2B leaders Northern Ireland away in the fifth round of the Nations League, in what could be a decisive match. UNN reports what is known ahead of the game, where to watch it, and which side is the favorite.
The penultimate-round match in Group 2B between Northern Ireland and Ukraine will take place this Sunday, November 14. The opening whistle at Windsor Park in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, will sound at 21:45 Kyiv time.
The teams’ performances in the Nations League
After four rounds, Ukraine’s national team sits third in the group. At the start, our team defeated Hungary (1:0), played out a goalless draw with Georgia, suffered a heavy defeat to Northern Ireland in the first round of fixtures (3:0), and lost to Hungary in the third round — 2:1.
Meanwhile, our opponents, who lead the table with 8 points, defeated Georgia at the start (1:0), defeated Ukraine as already mentioned, and also drew with Hungary and Georgia — twice by a score of 0:0.
Before the match
In the style of GTA VI, the UAF announced a list of 25 players for the next two Nations League matches against Georgia and Northern Ireland.
Goalkeepers: Anatoliy Trubin (Benfica, Lisbon, Portugal), Dmytro Riznyk (Shakhtar Donetsk), Heorhiy Yermakov (Kharkiv).
Defenders: Mykola Matviyenko, Valeriy Bondar (both Shakhtar Donetsk), Eduard Sarapiy, Borys Krushynskyi (both Polissia Zhytomyr), Illia Zabarnyi (Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, France), Taras Mykhavko (Dynamo Kyiv), Vitaliy Mykolenko (Everton, Liverpool, England), Illia Krupskyi (Kharkiv).
Midfielders: Oleh Ocheretko, Yehor Nazaryna (both Shakhtar Donetsk), Oleksandr Andrievskyi (Polissia Zhytomyr), Ivan Varfolomeiev (Lincoln, England), Yehor Yarmoliuk (Brentford, England).
Attacking players: Heorhii Sudakov (Benfica, Lisbon, Portugal), Oleksandr Nazarenko, Ihor Krasnopir (both Polissia Zhytomyr), Matvii Ponomarenko (Dynamo Kyiv), Danylo Sikan (Anderlecht, Brussels, Belgium), Roman Yaremchuk (Olympiacos, Piraeus, Greece), Hennadiy Synchuk (Montreal, Canada), Oleksii Kashchuk (Qarabağ, Agdam, Azerbaijan).
Standby list: Oleksandr Pikhalionok, Volodymyr Brazhko, Ruslan Neshcheret, Heorhii Bushchan (all Dynamo Kyiv), Artem Dovbyk (Bologna, Italy), Oleksandr Drambaiev (LNZ Cherkasy), Vladyslav Vanat (Girona, Spain), Artem Bondarenko (Al-Ahli, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia), Timur Tuterov (Sunderland, England).
However, the following day it became known that winger Oleksandr Zubkov of Greek club AEK would not be able to help Ukraine’s national team due to injury. Mykola Shaparenko (Dynamo Kyiv) and Vladyslav Vanat (Girona, Spain) were additionally called up to the squad.
In addition, Dynamo Kyiv forward Matvii Ponomarenko left the Ukraine national team camp ahead of the Nations League matches against Northern Ireland and Georgia. Head coach Andrea Mald era additionally called up Artem Dovbyk from Bologna.
The reason was an injury sustained in the Shakhtar–Dynamo match.
For the second time since the start of the full-scale invasion, the national team held an open training session in Ukraine — at Avanhard Stadium in Uzhhorod. This session was the first part of preparations for the November matches against Northern Ireland and Georgia.
Fans had the opportunity to immerse themselves in the team’s training process under Andrea Maldera, and after the session the players stayed with the fans for a long time: they spoke with them, took photographs, and gave them commemorative souvenirs.
"Ahead of important matches, this kind of support is especially important for the team. A full stadium at home gives the players energy and once again reminds them who the national team takes the field for. The Ukrainian Association of Football thanks everyone who came to Avanhard to support the team," the UAF said.
On Tuesday evening, the national team began full preparations for the match against Northern Ireland.
History of the rivalry
The teams have played each other seven times. The first meeting took place in 1996 in the qualifying campaign for the 1998 World Cup, when Ukraine defeated Northern Ireland twice — first 1:0 and then 2:1 in the return match.
In 2021, our team secured a narrow victory thanks to a goal by Oleksandr Zubkov. Overall, Northern Ireland have already defeated Ukraine twice, including a painful loss during Euro 2016 in France. The score then was 2:0 in favor of the Irish.
What happens next
To be promoted to League A, Ukraine need to finish first or second, which would allow them to play in the playoffs. Third place for Ukraine would mean that our team remains in League B, while fourth place would mean having to play a playoff to retain their place in League B against a team from League C.
"Of course, our main goal is to remain in League B. Of course, I would be pleased to win this group. I have always said that the group is evenly matched. And, in principle, everything is still open — anything can happen. As for our goals, our most important goal is qualification for the Euros. We want to perform well in these two matches, give our maximum, and then we will see how it all ends," Maldera said at a meeting with journalists.
Where to watch, favorite
The match will be available to watch on the MEGOGO OTT platform with the "Optimal" and "Sport" subscriptions and in all "MEGOPACK" packages. In addition, the match will be shown for free on the MEGOGO SPORT television channel, available via T2 terrestrial broadcasting and cable networks.
The bookmakers consider Northern Ireland the favorite in this match. Bets on their victory are accepted at odds of 2.36. A draw is rated at odds of 3.1. Ukraine's victory — 3.27.