Nations League: Ukraine v Republic of Ireland, Miejski stadium, Łódź, Poland, Tuesday, 7.45pm − Live RTÉ2
A star is injured. Michael Obafemi’s groin strain is offset by Chiedozie Ogbene’s return, but Ireland face so much more than the normal international resistance.
Łódź is no neutral venue.
When last we saw Oleksandr Petrakov, Ukraine football manager and de facto wartime diplomat, was thanking the people of Ireland for housing his country’s “women and children” as Russian troops murder the men who stayed behind to defend towns and cities. All because of Vladimir Putin’s “security concerns”.
Petrakov reappeared for the final leg of an odyssey that doubles as a life-saving mission to keep Ukraine at the forefront of European minds in high summer. The 64-year-old looked jaded by the same questions, different day, but he made one thing abundantly clear; after tonight’s match he will make the 900-kilometre journey home.
“I can talk only for myself but I will return home to Kyiv to my family. I love my country. I will go home.”
The Ukrainian-based players, mainly from Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kyiv, will be rerouted to their club camps, which are currently based outside the country.
The contrasting reality facing Ireland casts a pall over what should nevertheless prove a compelling sporting contest. Irish players get to home, go on holiday, go back to their clubs, safe in the knowledge that their very existence is not under threat.
So, 90 more minutes before Ukraine’s tour comes to an end. Łódź is 400 kilometres from Lviv, where this match was supposed to take place, which is slightly longer than Dublin to Valentia Island.
As players are caped in the flag and a child sings the national anthem — “Ukraine has not yet perished” — the 18,000 capacity “King’s stadium” will attempt to drown out 800 Irish fans.
“It was my decision to play in Łódź,” said Petrakov of the weekend’s 3-0 win over Armenia. “I felt this connection. After the game I went into the city centre with friends and women, men and children came over to thank us for the game and for what we are doing. The emotions were incredible. So yes I felt at home.
“Thank you Poland, we feel the support and this does feel like home.”
A bug in Ukraine’s camp, caused by “Welsh rain” and not Covid, has taken out as many bodies as Ireland have lost to injury. Benfica striker Roman Yaremchuk requires an MRI scan, Eduard Sobol and Denys Popov clashed heads in training while outgoing West Ham forward Andriy Yarmolenko and Oleksandr Zubkov are recovering from fever.
Łódź is not playing ball for the Irish who made the trip as nobody packed for heavy downpours, but a cloudy 16 degrees is forecast come kick-off.
Having outmanoeuvred Scotland with an extra midfielder, Stephen Kenny is expected to revert to 3-4-2-1, although something needs to be done about Mykola Shaparenko and Serhiy Sydorchuk as the pair dominated possession at the Aviva Stadium.
“Like Ukraine, they can switch from 3-4-2-1 to 4-3-3, we must have more than one way of playing,” said Kenny. “We have two systems that we are trying to improve all the time. We are capable of playing either at any time.”
This is a rewrite of the accepted theory that Kenny’s Ireland is married to 3-4-2-1 but victory over Scotland allows the manager to adjust the narrative.
“We did alter it at the weekend and it was successful. That’s very encouraging so we have to consider that but with Chiedozie Ogbene back we have a different option.”
Ogbene’s probably returns but considering the entire leadership group — Séamus Coleman, Shane Duffy and John Egan — is gone, it would take something special to alter Ireland’s standing in the Nations League.
UKRAINE (possible): Riznyk; Karavaev, Matvienko, Zabarnyi; Mykolenko, Shaparenko, Sydorchuk, Zinchenko; Yarmolenko, Dovbyk, Tsygankov.
IRELAND (possible): Kelleher; O’Shea, Collins, Lenihan; Browne, Cullen, Molumby, McClean; Knight, Ogbene; Robinson.
Referee: Ali Palabiyik (Turkey).
