HAMBURG, June 28, 2006 (AFP) – Factfile on Ukraine who face Italy in a World Cup quarter-final tie here on Friday:-
UKRAINE
Honours:
– Previous World Cup appearances: 0
FIFA world ranking: 45
Odds: 33/1
Coach: Oleg Blokhin
Enjoys hero status throughout Ukraine after a glittering playing career that same him win seven Soviet league titles with Dynamo Kiev during the 1970s and 80s before the fall of the Iron Curtain.
Named European Footballer of the Year in 1975. During his stunning career he shone for club and country, scoring 211 goals in 432 Soviet league games, as well as 42 times in 112 games for the USSR.
Key player: Andriy Shevchenko
The 2004 European Footballer of the Year, Shevchenko regularly topped the scoring charts for AC Milan and has now completed a 30-million-pound (43.5-million-euro) switch to English champions Chelsea.
Combination of pace and skill with great accuracy, has made the striker one of the most feared marksmen in the world.
Carrying a knee injury and looked a shadow of himself in the demoralising 4-0 loss to Spain but bounced back in style with a goal in the 4-0 victory against Saudi Arabia and winning penalty in 1-0 triumph over Tunisia.
Squad:
