Zinchenko and Malinovskyi to lead Ukraine at Euro 2020

Ukraine will be led by Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ruslan Malinovskyi at the upcoming Euro 2020. The duo have been the pillars of the national side’s fortunes in recent times and much will depend on the pair if Ukraine are to leave a mark on the tournament.

Although the captain of the team is 36-year-old veteran shot stopper Andriy Pyatov, Ukraine coach will look at Zinchenko and Malinovskyi to provide some much-needed leadership among the outfield players.

Manchester City’s left back Oleksandr Zinchenko is easily the most popular Ukrainian footballer in the current generation. The 24-year-old looked helpless on Saturday as Chelsea beat his Manchester City side by a goal.

He is a gifted player and is awarded by a midfield role for Ukraine. He has already featured 38 times for his country and has 5 goals to show for his efforts.

Another important player for Ukraine this summer will be Atalanta midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi. Malinovskyi is 4 years senior to Zinchenko and has scored 6 goals in his 33 matches for Ukraine. He ended the league campaign with Atalanta on a high by finding the back of the net 6 times in the last 9 matches which is an impressive return.

His Atalanta teammate Viktor Kovalenko did not make the final squad as he is currently nursing a thigh injury. Former captain Yehven Konoplyanka also misses out for a similar reason.

Despite his poor form, Andriy Yarmolenko was named in the squad which comes to the surprise of no one as he is one of the stalwarts of the side. The West Ham United winger has represented his country 92 times, which can only be trumped by Pyatov 96, who is 5 years older to him.

Apart from these star players from play outside Ukraine, much of the squad is dominated by the two biggest clubs in Ukraine: Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kiev. One local player to watch out for will be Viktor Tsygankov of Dynamo Kiev who has already played 26 times for his nation while still being just 23 years of age.