Sports Mole previews Tuesday’s Olympic Games Men’s Football clash between Ukraine and Argentina, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
The stakes will be high for Ukraine and Argentina when they go head to head at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais in the final round of group-stage games at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
All four nations in Group B are level on three points after their first two games, making this a winner-takes-all affair as they look to secure a spot in the knockout stages.
Match preview
© Reuters
Ukraine kept their dreams of securing a first-ever Olympics knockout-stage appearance alive on Saturday when they snatched a last-gasp 2-1 victory over Morocco at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
In a game where Volodymyr Salyuk received his marching orders, Soufiane Rahimi converted his 64th-minute penalty to cancel out Dmytro Kryskiv‘s first-half opener but substitute Igor Krasnopir struck in the eighth minute of stoppage time to hand the ax a dramatic win.
This followed a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Iraq in the Group B opener on July 24, when Aymen Hussein and Ali Jasim scored in an 18-minute spell to cancel out Valentyn Rubchynskyi‘s 53rd-minute opener and turn the game on its head.
Making their first-ever Olympics football appearance, head coach Ruslan Rotan will hope his side can continue from where they dropped off against Morocco as they look to make history.
While Ukraine face their biggest challenge yet in a star-studded Argentine side, La Albiceleste’s shock opening-day defeat against Morocco should give them plenty of optimism going into Tuesday.
Javier Mascherano‘s men kept their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals alive on Saturday afternoon when they cruised to a dominant 3-1 victory over Iraq at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais.
Thiago Almada and Aymen Hussein scored for either side to end the first half level before Luciano Gondou, Ezequiel Fernandez scored second-half breaks to hand Argentina a vital victory and spare their blushes.
This was a much-needed result for the South American powerhouse, who were left stunned in the group opener on July 24, when they suffered a controversial 2-1 defeat against Morocco at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
Argentina will be aiming to avoid a repeat of their 2021 Olympic run, where they suffered a group-stage exit after picking up four points from three games to finish third in Group C, just below runner-up Egypt on goal difference.
La Albiceleste are one of just six nations with multiple Olympic gold medals (2), with the first coming in 2004 in Greece, four years before they secured a 1-0 victory over Nigeria in the final thanks to a second-half strike from Angel Di Maria.
Since their clinching their triumph in 2008, Argentina failed to make it past the Olympics group stages, a record they could bring to an end with three points on Tuesday.
Ukraine Olympic Games Men’s Football form:
Argentina Olympic Games Men’s Football form:
Team News
© Reuters
Ukraine will have to cope without the services of defender Salyuk, who is currently suspended after picking up a straight red card against Morocco on Saturday.
In his absence, Maksym Talovierov, who made a late cameo against Serbia in the just-concluded Euro 2024, should come into the fold, forming the back four with Illya Krupskyi, Arseniy Batagov and Oleksandr Martinyuk.
As for Argentina, Lucas Beltran was forced off injured midway through the first half against Iraq on Saturday and the Fiorentina forward is a major doubt for Tuesday’s game.
Should he fail to shake off the injury, Atletico Madrid man Giuliano Simeone should come into the starting XI, forming the two-man attack with Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez.
Nicolas Otamendi has started the two opening games and should team up with Marco Di Cesare at the heart of the defence while Cristian Medina, Ezequiel Fernandez, Santiago Hezze and Thiago Almada should retain their roles in midfield.
Ukraine possible starting lineup:
Fesyun; Krupskyi, Talovierov, Batagov, Martinyuk; Khlan, Rubchynskyi, Mykhailenko, Bragaru; Kryskiv, Sikan
Argentina possible starting lineup:
Rulli; Garcia, Di Cesare, Otamendi, Soler; Fernandez, Medina, Hezze, Almada; Simeone, Alvarez
We say: Ukraine 1-3 Argentina
It’s all or nothing for Ukraine and Argentina on Tuesday and the two nations will need no extra motivation given the stakes of the game. While we expect Ukraine to put up a fight, Mascherano’s side boast the quality and firepower needed to get the job done and we are backing them to come away with all three points at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.