An upstart Ukraine team takes on a well-rounded Spain squad in this UEFA Nations League fixture.
Note: Heavy may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up via a link on this page
In the United States, the match (2:45 p.m. ET) will be televised on UniMas (Spanish broadcast), but if you don’t have cable or don’t have that channel, anyone in the US can watch Ukraine vs Spain (English broadcast) live on ESPN+:
ESPN+ has live coverage of most UEFA Nations League matches in 20-21, as well as FA Cup, Carabao Cup, EFL, Bundesliga, Serie A, DFL Supercup, Bundesliga 2, MLS and other live sports. It also includes every 30-for-30 documentary and additional original content (both video and written) all for $5.99 per month.
Or, if you also want Disney+ and Hulu, you can get all three for $12.99 per month, which works out to about 31 percent savings:
Get the ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu Bundle
Once signed up for ESPN+, you can watch Ukraine vs Spain live on the ESPN app on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via ESPN.com.
Ukraine vs Spain Preview
Spain is coming off a 1-0 win over Switzerland, with Mikel Oyarzabal scoring the game’s lone goal. Spain largely dominated the match, taking 12 shots on goal to the Swiss’ four. They also saw the possession arrow go in their favor, as they had the ball over 60 percent of the time.
The addition of forward Adama Traore has been a boon for Spain. While he didn’t score in the team’s last game, his drives on the goal and his forceful presence stood out immediately.
“Adama was Adama at his best,” Spain manager Luis Enrique said after his team’s most recent win. “He has an enormous capacity to get past rivals. We changed the way we played to get more passes to him. He is a specialist in one-on-one situations. It doesn’t matter if he is defended by one, two, or three rivals, he is able to put in crosses and create advantageous situations.”
With Traore at forward, 17-year-old phenom Ansu Fati at wing and Rodigo Moreno playing midfield, Spain has a formidable attack that could overwhelm a banged-up Ukraine team. Ukraine coach Andrei Shevchenko said this week that because his team has been hit so hard by the coronavirus, he’ll be needing some of his younger guys to step up against Spain.
“We are missing many key players,” Shevchenko said. “It is an opportunity for the young players to show themselves, we have been progressing steadily, and I am satisfied with how we have developed in recent years, but now we have new challenges and we have to be up to this level.”
Shevchenko’s squad managed to hang in there in their 2-1 loss to Germany on October 10. The Germans had 17 shots on goal to Ukraine’s nine, but the 17 fouls they committed kept Ukraine in it.
With Andriy Pyatov, Andriy Lunin and Yuriy Pankiv all testing positive for the coronavirus, Heorhiy Buschchan will be in at keeper for Ukraine. Now, Ukraine will be tasked with taking out a team that has had their number for a while; They have lost five out of their last six matchups to Ukraine.
The last time these two teams clashed, Spain won 3-0 in Nations League play last month.
Here’s a look at the predicted lineups for both teams:
Ukraine: Heorhiy Bushchan; Yukhym Konplya, Ihor Plastun, Vitaliy Mykolenko, Eduard Sobol; Serhiy Sydorchuk, Mykola Shaparenko, Roman Bezus; Ruslan Malinovskyi, Andriy Yarmolenko, Oleksandr Zubkov
Spain: David de Gea; Jose Gaya, Eric Garcia, Sergio Ramos, Jesus Navas; Rodri, Dani Ceballos, Mikel Merino; Ansu Fati, Gerard Moreno, Adama Traore
Comments
Where to Watch Ukraine vs Spain Nations League in US