02:51 PM
So who needs what?
As I said below, if it’s a draw, both sides will have four points and a GD of 0; Ukraine will finish second because they have scored more goals. Austria would then take their chances against other third place teams. The only team that has definitely finished third so far is Switzerland, who also have four points, but have a goal difference of minus 1. So Austria are ahead of their near-neighbour right out of the gate.
02:40 PM
Ukraine vs Austria
Good afternoon, and welcome to our live blog of the Group C match between Ukraine and Austria, which is being played in Bucharest. It kicks off at 5pm, we will have the team news about an hour before that I should think, and you can watch the action on ITV4.
Both sides have got three points so far: they both beat North Macedonia, and they both lost to the Netherlands. If there is a winner, that side will obviously definitely go through. They both have a goal difference of zero but Ukraine have got their noses in front by dint of goals scored. If it’s a draw, Ukraine go through in second place and Austria will have to take their chances among the four best third-place finishers.
A draw would very likely be enough for Austria so we’ll have to see how that… develops.
But skipper David Alaba is not settling. Here’s a story about him/them.
Austria’s Euro 2020 group game against Ukraine will feel like a final as they bid to reach the knockout stages of a major tournament for the first time in 39 years, captain David Alaba said.
Austria, who have not gone beyond the group stage since the 1982 World Cup, are third in Group C on three points, behind second-placed Ukraine on goal difference.
A draw in their final group game would be enough for Ukraine to finish second behind the Netherlands, who have already qualified, but Austria will advance if they win at Bucharest.
“We are aware that it has a feeling of a final, we want to win this match and write history, this is obvious,” Alaba said.
“It won’t be easy but we can see that we have great team spirit. There are so many players who play at such a top level and have already gained experience.
“We know how strong Ukraine are, but we also know their weaknesses and we want to benefit from this.”
As for their opponents, Andriy Yarmolenko will be the man to watch. He and Roman Yaremchuk scored a goal each for Ukraine in the team’s opening match, and then scored a goal each in the second as well.
“The toughest game is ahead of us in the next round of matches,” Yarmolenko said.
Despite the goals, Ukraine coach Andriy Shevchenko’s concern in the previous match was that his team didn’t score more, given the numerous chances his players created.
Ruslan Malinovskyi, for example, had an opportunity to put the game against North Macedonia out of reach with an 84th-minute penalty awarded after a handball. But the Atalanta midfielder ran up casually and placed a rising shot that goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski saved easily.
“If we would have only drawn, I would be very upset,” Malinovskyi said of the 2-1 victory.
Shevchenko said defender Denys Popov has a calf injury and might miss what the coach called “a very, very difficult game ahead of us.”