An interesting match in Scotland!
2022-09-22
分享比赛
Scotland VS Ukraine
Scotland host Ukraine for this UEFA Nations League Group B round 2 clash at Hampden Park in Glasgow early Thursday morning Beijing time. I am surprised to see the hosts as the favorites on the betting market! Yes, the home advantage is there and Scottish people love their national team but the difference in pure class in favor of Úkraine is very clear here. They are better than the hosts in all areas of the - especially in terms of offensive players’ skill individual skill level. They also seem to have an excellent team spirit – one of the reasons behind this might be the tough situation Ukraine is as a country with Russia at the moment. Ukraine have started the Nations League campaign in a convincing way taking two wins and a draw. Their score difference is also excellent 5:1. The draw came in the previous round against Ireland. The match was played at Stadion ŁKS in Łódź, Poland so it was not a home match despite the fact that there were many Ukrainians cheering for their country. It was 1-1 draw and I must say Ireland played a very good on that day – better than their normal level. Ukraine would have deserved a narrow win after recording 60% ball possession as well as more passes, completed passes, attacks and dangerous attacks. Both teams recorded the same number of goal attempts and shots on target though.
Before the clash with Ireland Ukraine completely crushed Armenia also at Stadion ŁKS 3-0 after 70% ball possession. They only allowed Armenia one shot on target whilst recording eight themselves. They also recorded much more goal attempts, passes, completed passes (659-203), attacks and especially dangerous attacks – 72-23. I loved the way they played as a whole and if they can get even pretty close to this level they probably will not at least lose today. The chances of my fans and I winning with the +1 on Ukraine with the 1x2 handicap option is high as a draw would be enough! Early this summer Ukraine defended in very organized way and beat Ireland away from home after a balanced battle 1-0 as clear underdogs according to the bookies. Let’s not forget that Ukraine have lost just one of their most recent 15 matches. An awesome record! This loss was a true heartbreak for them as it was the World Cup Promotion Final in Wales. Ukraine were the better team recording 63% ball possession, a whopping 24 goal attempts and nine shots on target – Wales had just two of the latter. However, Wales defended well and were also lucky taking a 1-0 win through Yarmolenko’s own goal. Scotland were good in their most recent match in Armenia winning 4-1 but the score is still misleading as the match was more balanced than the final score would suggest. A win by one or maximum two goals’ difference would have been justified. Before this they were bad in Ireland losing 0-3 as narrow favorites according to the betting market. They looked very vulnerable defensively and recorded just two shots on goal and struggled with offensibe creativity and structure. Let’s also remember that Ukraine comfortably beat Scotland at the same stadium as today 3-1 in a World Cup Promotion semi-final clash. They are also ranked in the 27th place in FIFA Ranking – Scotland occupy the 45th place which is a bit too high in my opinion. Players to watch here are Scotland’s Ché Adams and Ukraine’s captain Andriy Yarmolenko.
