Playing in its first major tournament in 20 years, Northern Ireland looked quite overmatched against Poland on Sunday in Nice. The Green and White Army has a lot of work ahead of it now in what basically is going to be a must-win match for both them and Ukraine on Thursday.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Ukraine -180
Northern Ireland +625
Draw +285
Over/Under 2 (over -138)
ODDS ANALYSIS
The table is going to show that Northern Ireland is ahead of Ukraine right now, but there's no doubt that the better of these two teams on the opening match day of Group C was Ukraine.
That's why the Ukrainians are comfortable one-goal favorites against Northern Ireland with both teams sitting without a point to show from their first match efforts.
With neither team scoring a goal in their opening 90 minutes of the Euros, it shouldn't be surprising that the total is set at 2 with -138 vig on the over.
TOURNAMENT UPDATE
Ukraine might've lost 2-0 to Germany, but this was a match that was there for the taking until the very end. The Ukrainians fell behind early on, but for the next hour, the argument could be made that they were the better of the two teams on the pitch. Sure, the Bavarians scored in stoppage time to put the match away, and that goal might end up playing a crucial role in qualification for the next round, but if we're being realistic about the whole thing, the result wasn't a fair one. Ukraine deserved better than a two-goal defeat.
Northern Ireland really had no claim to anything against Poland on Sunday. If not for the efforts of Michael McGovern, the Green and White Army would've been beaten by at least two or three goals, if not more than that. Northern Ireland managed just one shot for the entire game, and nothing hit the frame. The Poles didn't even get a fantastic effort out of Robert Lewandowski, and they were still easily good enough to get the three points in spite of the 1-0 score line.
LIVE BETTING
The big thing here for Northern Ireland is that it has to figure out how to get more possession of the ball. The team had just 40 percent of the ball on Sunday, and its 74 percent completion percentage on passes was woeful at best.
Ukraine should be able to take advantage of this in its midfield. The play out on the wings especially in the team's 4-5-1 formation were fantastic against Germany. Yevhen Konoplyanka had the best chance of the soccer match for the Ukrainians, getting a sure goal cleared off the line when the match was still 1-0, and though Andriy Yarmolenko was relatively quiet in the end, he still had some moments of true brilliance.
QUICK PICK
Northern Ireland just isn't going to have the horses in this match we feel. The team was overmatched by a Poland team which really wasn't all that good on the night, and things aren't going to get any easier against a Ukrainian team which genuinely believes it still has a shot to get into the knockout rounds with ease.
So long as the midfield does its job for Ukraine and has the lion share of possession, it should end up doing enough to break the ice and get a couple in the back of the net. Expect another busy night for McGovern, and he'll end up with a relatively similar result.
Euro 2016 Odds: Ukraine 2, Northern Ireland 0
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The fixture between Ukraine and Northern Ireland is scheduled for Thursday, June 16, 2016, at 12:00 p.m. ET at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais in Lyon. The match will be televised live on ESPN.
