EURO 2016 TEAM PREVIEW: GROUP C - UKRAINE

Tip: Early exit

Cult hero: Anatoliy Tymoshchuk’s hair alone makes him a lock for this particular section. The Ukraine skipper has been lighting up Europe since 1997 with his flowing blonde tresses and classy play from the back, but prefers fine wines now as he nears the big 40. Invaluable man to have in the squad.

Star player: Yevhen Konoplyanka may receive the lion’s share of attention for his midfield displays, but Andriy Yarmolenko is the man who holds the key to Ukraine’s progress through this group. His strong direct play coming off the flank or through the middle will mightily test out opposition defences, who could take Ukraine lightly after they crept into the tournament via the playoffs.

Player to watch: Shakhtar Donetsk No. 10 Viktor Kovalenko is fast becoming one of the standout young stars in world football with Ukraine fans drooling over his long-term potential. He burst onto the scene with a hat-trick against the USA in last summer’s U20 World Cup, then followed up by excelling in the departed Alex Teixeira’s role at Shakhtar so definitely one to watch off the bench at first.

How they qualified: By the skin of their teeth after they let Slovakia get the better of them in Group C behind runaway leaders Spain. They needed the playoffs to book their spot with Slovenia put to the sword in the first home leg, but needed a late leveller away finally to put the tie beyond doubt.

Line-up prediction: Pyatov, Fedetskiy, Khacheridi, Rakitskiy, Shevchuk, Stepanenko, Garmash, Rotan, Yarmolenko, Konoplyanka, Zozulya