UEFA Nations League B Group 1
Ireland v Ukraine, Aviva Stadium, 7.45pm
TV
Live coverage on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 7pm
RADIO
Live commentary on Game On on RTÉ2fm
ONLINE
Live match tracker on RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ News Now app, with goals and significant action posted on @rtesoccer on Twitter and the RTÉ Sport Facebook account. Plus report and reaction afterward.
WEATHER
A breezy day on Wednesday with sunny spells and showers. Showers may merge to give longer spells of rain at times. Top temperatures of 16 to 19 degrees with a fresh and gusty westerly breeze. For more, see met.ie.
THE NATIONS LEAGUE CURSE
Since Wales, hungry for vengeance, rattled in four goals in the first hour against Ireland in our first ever Nations League game back in September 2018, we've extracted nothing but misery from this new competition that UEFA saw fit to invent.
Apathy was rampant back then and we got off on the wrong foot. Perhaps, we might say in retrospect, that all those fans demanding again and again to be explained the format of 'this bloody thing' was bad karma.
In Cardiff, Millwall's Shaun Williams did rustle up a fine consolation goal around 70 minutes in. Lamentably, it remains Ireland's second to last goal in this competition in 11 matches. After six losses and five draws, we're still awaiting our first win.
Armenia, who were smashed 9-0 by Norway in their last outing, were supposed to be suitable patsies for an overdue victory. Not quite, it turned out.
After a wobbly start, Ireland had the better of the play in the first half, Robinson and Ogbene missing chances. It was assumed Stephen Kenny's side would ratchet up the pressure in the second half but it was the Armenians who were emboldened, evidently concluding at half-time that they didn't have much to fear from their opponents.
First there was the warning shot of a disallowed goal. On 70 minutes, FC Krasnador's Eduard Spertsyan unleashed a vicious shot which beat Kelleher, clipped off the inside of the post and nestled in the net. It was a sickening strike reminiscent of Gerson Rodrigues (Luxembourg, March '21) and Emin Mahmudov (Azerbaijan, Sept '21).
A goal down, Ireland shuffled the ball around hesitantly in front of a well-organised Armenian defence, usually hoiking in some ineffectual cross which was easily dealt with. No chances of note were created late on.
Kenny, usually bullish after setbacks, looked ashen-faced at the final whistle. After the apparent progress in the latter half of 2021 and the encouraging display against Belgium in March, it was a brutal reminder of Ireland's enduring limitations.
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"It is a knock, there's no getting away from that. We’re very disappointed to lose," said the manager.
"No excuses really. We didn’t create enough clear-cut chances that second half against Armenia, we should be creating more than we did.
"We've got to dust ourselves down, we’ve got a tough game with Ukraine on Wednesday. That’s the way it is, that’s nature of the Nations League.
"Four games, so we can't dwell on it. We’ve got to pick ourselves up and go again.
"We have made life difficult for ourselves so the only way to bounce back from defeat is to win the next game and that is what we have to try to do."
Ukraine: Emotionally spent or still keen to make a statement?
Pitchside at Hampden before the Scotland-Ukraine game, Graeme Souness surprised everyone by dusting down the notorious 33rd team proposal, suggesting the Ukrainians should get invited into the World Cup regardless of the qualification process, in recognition of their plight.
After their demolition of the Scots in Glasgow, it appeared that Ukraine wouldn't be requiring this show of solidarity, in any event. Yarmolenko, Yaremchuk and Artem Dovbyk slotted goals in a slick 3-1 win. This teed a do-or-die qualifier with Wales in Cardiff, the hosts seeking a first World Cup spot since the days of John Charles.
A cruel own goal from Yarmolenko, the same player being bizarrely denied a penalty by VAR after Allen hacked his legs, and then Hennessy making a phenomenal save in the last five minutes from Dovbyk's header - and the Ukrainians were out, to the devastation of both players and fans.
All recent evidence suggests they are a significantly better side than Ireland, both on paper and in actuality. Star man Zinchenko has just won another Premier League with Man City, while Yarmolenko scored five goals in 19 games for West Ham last year.
In Glasgow, they looked to be inspired and emotionally charged up by the situation back home. However, in the wake of the Wales set-back, Irish fans may be hoping they're not quite mentally tuned in for Wednesday.
Coleman gone - Bazunu makes way for Talbot
Kenny confirmed on Tuesday that Seamus Coleman would miss the Ukraine game due to a groin issue and could offer no guarantee that the Everton full-back would be available for the remainder of the current window.
With Matt Doherty already long ruled out, it means Ireland are without their two first choice full-backs/wing-backs for Wednesday.
Aside from that, Kenny has advised people not to expect "wholesale changes" from Saturday.
Gavin Bazunu, ruled out on Saturday with a back injury, departed the squad altogether following the Armenian trip, Bohemians' James Talbot coming in as cover.
Michael Obafemi, with 12 goals in the Championship last season, did get on for his competitive debut, though struggled to make an impact. It would be a surprise if Kenny started the Swansea man in place of a misfiring Callum Robinson.
Past meetings section blank
This is typically where we'd stick the last five meetings or give a brief sketch of past encounters between the two sides. But there ain't none.
The Ukrainian national team played their first international in April 1992 following the break-up of the USSR and have never met Ireland in the mean-time, competitive or otherwise.
There aren't many UEFA affiliated nations left who fall into this category. We hadn't played Moldova or Azerbaijan until facing them in recent qualifier campaigns. We've no competitive history with Belarus or Greece (surprisingly) but have met them in friendlies.
That leaves just Ukraine, Slovenia and new-boys Kosovo, against whom we haven't played. After tomorrow, Ukraine will have the privilege of coming off the list.
Follow Republic of Ireland v Ukraine (Wednesday, 7.45pm) via our live blog on rte.ie/sport or on the RTÉ News app. Watch live coverage on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player commencing at 7pm, with live radio coverage on 2fm's Game On, from 6pm.
