Kazakhstan vs Ukraine

Astana Arena is the venue as Kazakhstan and Ukraine go head-to-head in a must-win World Cup Qualifying encounter.

Since earning independence in 1991, minnows Kazakhstan have never qualified for a major international tournament from 12 attempts, with that trend looking likely to continue this time around. Kazakhstan’s World Cup Qualifying campaign started with a 2-0 home loss to reigning world champions France and was followed up by a 1-1 draw away to Ukraine, meaning the ‘Hawks’ have managed just three victories from their last 44 World Cup qualifiers (D7, L34). Speaking of their underdog status, Talgat Baysufinov’s men have failed to win all but one of their previous eight competitive home fixtures (D1, L6), with a 4-0 thumping of FIFA’s #209 ranked San Marino being the solitary exception. Adding to this sentiment, the hosts have lost both previous H2Hs on home soil despite scoring in each.

On the other hand, the Ukrainians have started their World Cup Qualifying campaign with three identical 1-1 draws, two of which saw them get on the scoresheet first. Interestingly, Ukraine reached Euro 2020 quarter-finals despite managing just a single victory within 90 minutes (W1, D1, L3), with Andriy Shevchenko vacating the coaching spot immediately after the tournament. It is now up to interim manager Oleksandr Petrakov to try and lead Ukraine to only their second-ever appearance at the World Cup final tournament. A trip to Kazakhstan looks like a perfect place to embark on that mission, with ‘The Team’ never losing to this opposition in a competitive fixture (W4, D1). Worryingly, though, the visitors head into proceedings having failed to win any of their previous five away matches in all competitions (D2, L3).