UKRAINE: SOCCER/FOOTBALL - Italy prepare for crucial Euro 2008 qualifier against Ukraine

Donadoni without Toni and Gattuso for key game as Italy prepare to face Ukraine. Italy held a training session in the Olympic Stadium in Kiev on Tuesday (September 11) evening ahead of their vital Euro 2008 qualifier against the Ukraine on Wednesday (September 12). Ukraine face a mammoth task when they take on world champions Italy in a Euro 2008 Group B qualifier on Wednesday (Septemmber 12), with anything less than victory leaving them practically no chance of reaching next year's finals. Ukraine cannot afford to drop any more points after being held to a surprise 1-1 draw by Georgia on Saturday (September 8), having conceded a late equaliser. Ukraine coach Oleg Blokhin blasted his players for what he called "a shameless performance". "We can't have people clowning around on the pitch, we must respect the opposition," he said, pointing a finger at Spartak Moscow midfielder Maxim Kalinichenko for the Georgia goal. "Georgia had two half-chances for the whole match and were able to score while we wasted several golden opportunities to put the game away after going up 1-0 and paid the price." Blokhin spared Andriy Shevchenko from blame but the Chelsea striker was clearly below his best after playing his first full match of the new season following a back injury. The Italians, too, have not been up to the standard expected of World Cup winners but have picked up the pace after a slow start to their qualifying campaign. They are third in the group with 17 points, two points behind leaders France after being held to a 0-0 draw by them in a repeat of last year's World Cup final on Saturday. Ukraine, who reached the quarter-finals on their World Cup debut last year, are fourth on 13 points but have a game in hand over their rivals. Vincenzo Iaquinta has replaced fellow striker Luca Toni, who has a thigh strain, while hard-tackling midfielder Gennaro Gattuso is suspended after a yellow card on Saturday. Alessandro Del Piero looked well off the pace against France and Daniele De Rossi was sloppy in midfield, leaving coach Roberto Donadoni with some thinking to do before the Kiev match. Only half of the capacity crowd will be allowed into the 84,000-seat Olympic stadium, which is scheduled to host the European Championship final in 2012, because of safety concerns linked to the construction of a nearby shopping centre. World and European soccer's governing bodies FIFA and UEFA said the centre posed a security risk and limited the attendance. Probable teams: Ukraine: 1-Olexander Shovkovsky; 3-Olexander Kucher, 5-Volodymyr Yezersky, 6-Andriy Rusol, 13-Dmytro Chygrynsky; 4-Anatoly Tymoshchuk, 8-Oleg Shelaev, 9-Oleg Gusev, 18-Serhiy Nazarenko; 7-Andriy Shevchenko, 10-Andriy Voronin Italy: 1-Gianluigi Buffon; 22-Massimo Oddo, 5-Fabio Cannavaro, 6-Andrea Barzagli, 19-Gianluca Zambrotta; 21-Andrea Pirlo, 10-Daniele De Rossi, 20-Simone Perrotta, 16-Mauro Camoranesi, 7-Alessandro Del Piero; 9-Filippo Inzaghi.

ITN Source | September 13, 2007

Tags:. .soccers. .golden. .debut. .respect. .replaced