World Cup
2006-06-14 - Spain vs Ukraine
A Sports Betting Pick by Trogdor
Spain - Ukraine - Tunisia - Saudi Arabia
Quite a bit have been said previously about this match, but it doesn't change the main point about it. It's result will directly influence Group H atmosphere and the winner of the group.
Qualifying
Ukraine brightly started qualifying campaign even though they had a lot of skeptics of new coach tactics. They all were proven wrong after Ukraine beat Turkey, Denmark and Greece. Even better, Ukraine enjoyed 7 games clean sheet streak which ended right after the team qualified for Germany.
Spain usually has successful qualifiying, but this time they only got 2nd place after Serbia and Montenegro. After easily dispatching with Slovakia in play-offs, Spain was drawn in relatively easy group, where they will try to end their uneventful run of World Cup and EURO tournaments.
Friendly Matches
Spain had good warm-up with Russia (0-0), Egypt (2-0) and Croatia (2-1) for which I give them firm 4.25/5. They lost the other 0.75 because they only got draw againt Russia, which was a key preparation for Ukraine fixture and also managed to sneak a late goal against Croatia. A-la Tunisia repetition went well with 2 goals versus Egypt.
Ukraine picked easier sparring opponents playing Costa Rica (4-0), Luxembourg (3-0), Lybia (3-0) and Italy (0-0). I want to note that all four games ended in clean sheets with neither of opponents having many chances. Italy came the closest to scoring, but we would expect that anyway. All in all, 4.75/5 because win against Italy would be a small shock.
Perhaps, my only worry is that Ukraine scored way too many goals in dying minutes of the games and weren't always sharp in attack. I am inclined to write it off since Shevchenko and Rebrov were off, but there is this bad sensation...
Verdict
I think Ukraine is capable of pulling off at least a draw here, with 0-0 coming to mind as most likely result. They will build their game from defence and will use counter-attacks, just as in almost any other game, which indeed showed the benefits of such strategy.
Spain can also view such result as positive since Tunisia and Saudi Arabia are opponents against which they should take full 6 points.
The Pick :
Spain 0-0 Ukraine
BEST BETTING TIP :
I saw great offer at Bet365 for Ukraine +0.5AH @2.00, which I would take with large stakes.UNDER 2.5 also looks interesting due to the fact that both teams often end games in clean sheet.
Finally, I would take a stab at 0-0 or 1-1 FT.
