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Greece for their troubled nation, Ukraine got better after the foreigners left

Greece and Ukraine are both in serious crises for different reasons but their young footballers will try and bring some joy to the troubled nations through good performances at the EC in Greece. That motivation cannot be ignored in this potentially very close match

mypa.fi

The U-19 European Championship is kicking off today with this game taking place in Veria. There are a total of 8 teams divided in two groups here. Two top teams from each of the groups are to advance into semifinals. Greece and Ukraine are in Group A together with France and Austria, who also meet today. 

Greece had an automatic qualification as the host so they didn't have to play qualifiers. They did only test games, which were all rather productive, which is normally not the case with Greek teams. Greee played Ukraine twice in March and both matches finished as draws (2-2, 1-1), which can suggest a new close battle today.

Greece reahed EC final in 2007 and 2012 only to lose to Spain both times. The team at coach Goumas' disposal today is made up mostly of players from Olympiacos and PAOK. There is also the young midfielder Donis from Juventus and offensive midfielder Orfanidis from Xanthi. 

- We might not be in a competitive rhythm and that could be a problem for us in comparison to other teams but we worked on that through friendly matches. We don't want to be treated as the hosts only, we want to be regarded as a competitive team that can reach the semifinals for starters - the Greek coach Goumas said. He talked about the big financial crisis his country is in and the potential chaos it can entail:

- The situation in the country reflects upon us of course but my players and I will do what even it takes to stay focused on football only. This is a chance to bring some joy for the fans and the nation and that should serve us as extra motivation. There are no weak teams here, no one got in by accident. We know Ukraine very well because we played them in preparation matches. We'll try and play out game and win - the Greek coach said.

Ukraine won the U-19 EC in 2009 and did very convincingly in the qualifiers for this EC, having sailed through with 4 wins and 2 draws (scored 19 goals). 

The fact coach Holovko couldn't count on three very important players (Viktor Kovalenko, Valeriy Lučkevyč, Artem Besedin) in three rounds because they were in New Zealand with the U20 teams also means a lot.

Ukraine didn't do well there and got back home early which means the three of those players are not at coach's disposal even though they had only 10 days to rest. 

- We prepared more tactical solutions and we just have to choose the right one at the right moment. Offense bring you wins but defense bring you titles. That's what I said to my players - coach Holovko said.

- The home team are capable of playing great defense, of being aggressive and waiting for their chance patiently. We are in for a very tough game and we need to be careful and ready for the fight - Holovko said and talked about the situation in Ukraine:

- A lot of foreign players left Ukraine because of the war, which gave our young players a chance to prove themselves in the first division. There is no better way for them to help this team - Holovko said.