Co-hosts Ukraine have never qualified for the European Championships before and will hope to make an impression in front of their own fans.
Recent results have been good, particularly a 3-3 draw with Germany. Can they continue their run at the Championships?
FIFA Ranking: 50
Elo Ranking: 27
Odds: 50-1
Best Performance at European Championships: Never previously qualified Ukraine have never previously qualified for the European Championships. In 2000 they finished just a point behind France during qualification, but lost a playoff with Slovenia 3-2. In 2008 they finished fourth in Group B, behind Italy, France and Scotland.
How they qualified: As hosts
The Boss: Oleg Blokhin As a player Blokhin was a powerful forward who spent the majority of his career at Dynamo Kiev. The 1975 European Player of the Year award winner made 112 appearances for the Soviet Union and averaged a goal every second one of his 586 appearances. He won Ukrainian footballer of the year nine times.
His managerial career started in Greece, where he took Olympiakos to two Greek Cups. He had two spells at PAOK, two at Ionikos (where he coached Craig Brewster), AEK Athens and took over as Ukraine manager in 2003. He took them to the World Cup quarter finals in 2006. After leaving he returned to club management with FC Moscow, but left after only managing a ninth placed finish. He returned to Ukraine in April 2011.
One to watch: Andriy Yarmolenko (Dynamo Kiev) The quest to find the successor to Andriy Shevchenko has been one of several worries for the coaches of the Ukraine, but in the 22-year-old Dynamo forward they may have just that. With pace, strength and the ability to conjure something out of nothing it is easy to see why he has been compared with Shevchenko. He has even been linked with a move to AC Milan. Presumably Chelsea are waiting until around 2017 to make a move.
Despite his relative youth, and the fact the man he is expected to learn from still actively leads the line, Yarmolenko has scored seven goals in his 18 appearances. Primarily used in wide positions for his country, if Ukraine stick around for the latter stages he may be one of the breakout stars.
Likely line-up: Blokhin is unlikely to stray from the tried and tested 4-4-2/4-4-1-1 than he has utilised throughout qualification. Shakhtar's Andriy Pyatov will be the first-choice goalkeeper, behind a defence of Vitaliy Mandzyuk or Oleh Husyev, Oleksandr Kucher, Taras Mykhalyk and Yaroslav Rakitskiy. Ruslan Rotan and Anatoliy Tymoshchuk will be the central midfield, with Yevhen Konoplyanka on the right and Andriy Yarmolenko on the left. Andriy Shevchenko will lead the line with Artem Milevskiy or Andriy Voronin supporting.
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