DENMARK v UKRAINE MATCH PRESS KIT Municipal, Agueda Monday, 29 May 2006 - 19:45 local time Final tournament - Group phase Group B - Matchday 6 Denmark and Ukraine will have a good idea of what to expect when they meet on the final day of Group B at the UEFA European Under-21 Championship having played each other in qualifying for this tournament. In Portugal, Denmark are looking for their first victory after drawing with both Italy and the Netherlands, while Ukraine, who beat the Dutch, will be aiming to bounce back from their crushing late defeat by Italy on Friday. • The Danes have reason to be confident having won both fixtures when the two countries were drawn together in qualifying round Group 2. The Scandinavian side opened their campaign with a 3-2 victory against Ukraine at the Farum Park stadium in September 2004 despite Sebastian Quecoe Cann-Svärd's own goal that gave Ukraine an early advantage. Leon Andreasen and Morten Rasmussen turned the game in Denmark's favour and, although Adrian Pukanych equalised Thomas Kahlenberg struck an 87th-minute winner for the Danes. Flemming Serritslev's side left it even later in the reverse fixture in Kiev the following March, defender Daniel Agger getting the only goal in the 89th minute. With the exception of Cann-Svärd, all those players are again involved in their countries' respective squads for the finals in Portugal. • Denmark went on to win the section with their 12 matches yielding 29 points, six more than runners-up Ukraine. Both sides nevertheless prevailed in the play-offs, the Danes winning both legs against Russia to triumph 4-1 overall while Ukraine claimed victory in their second leg in Belgium 3-1 to complete a 5-4 aggregate success. • The two countries have also been drawn together at youth level in recent years, Denmark edging out Ukraine 5-3 on penalties in the semi-finals of the 1994 European U16 Championship. Ten years later the Ukrainians earned a 2-0 victory in the U17 Elite round and went on to reach the final tournament in France. Also in 2004 Ukraine defeated the Danes 1-0 at the same stage of the U19 competition, fielding six players who are also involved in their U21 squad in Portugal in the shape of Dmytro Chygrynskiy, Olexandr Yatsenko, Olexandr Aliyev, Olexandr Sytnik, Artem Milevskiy and Olexandr Maksymov while Johan Absalonsen, Michael Jakobsen, Niki Zimling and Henrik Kildentoft were all involved for the Danes. Ukraine once more went on to the final tournament and reached the semi-finals before losing to eventual winners Spain. • Ukraine will also have happy memories of meeting the Danes at senior level in qualifying for this summer's FIFA World Cup finals. The sides shared a 1-1 draw in Copenhagen in the first round of Group 2 fixtures, before Andriy Voronin's strike in Kiev in the return secured Ukraine a vital victory on their way to Germany, their first major finals as an independent nation. • Going further back the Soviet Union inflicted a 3-0 defeat on Denmark in the semi-finals of the 1964 UEFA European Championship, with the Scandinavian side ultimately finishing fourth and the USSR losing to Spain in the final. Team facts Denmark With a solitary semi-final appearance in 1992 their best performance at a UEFA Under-21 European Championship, Denmark have high hopes that their present crop of talented youngsters can go one better in Portugal following an impressive qualifying campaign. Last Updated 29.5.2006 17:30:33CET uefa.com 1 DENMARK v UKRAINE MATCH PRESS KIT Qualifying Flemming Serritslev's team were paired with Ukraine, Greece and Turkey in a congested qualifying section, but never looked back after Thomas Kahlenberg's last-gasp penalty handed them a 3-2 victory against the Ukrainians in their opening game. By the time the Danes lost by the same scoreline in Turkey - their one blemish during the campaign - their place in the finals was virtually assured and they made sure with a 1-0 win against Georgia in their next outing. Their reward was a play-off tie against Russia and after winning the first leg 1-0 in Moscow, Denmark coasted home 3-1 in the return as the visitors capitulated, ending the game with just seven men. Team guide "This team can go all the way!" was coach Serritslev's reaction to that win and there is certainly reason for optimism. Defender Daniel Agger and midfielders Thomas Kahlenberg and Rasmus Würtz have all already graced the senior national side and the U21s are confident they can vanquish painful memories of their elimination last time around. "Two years ago we had a great U21 team who were eliminated in the play-offs on away goals - despite not losing - against eventual winners Italy," Serritslev said. "Our current team is even better." The trio of full internationals are sated by the experience of Bundesliga-based duo Kevin Stuhr Ellegaard and Leon Andreasen, while in Morten Nicolas Rasmussen they have a striker that knows how to find the net. The young forward scored eight of Denmark's 34 goals in qualifying and the consensus is that he can only get better since joining Danish high-fliers Brøndby IF from perennial strugglers AGF Århus. With clubs in the Superligaen increasingly turning to homegrown talent, Rasmussen is one of a crop of youngsters enjoying the fruits of a policy which could have an even greater impact in Portugal. However, Rasmussen will face competition for the centre-forward spot in Denmark's 4-3-3 formation after the emergence of Arsenal FC striker Nicklas Bendtner. The 18-year-old scored twice on his debut against Spain in mid-May and having claimed the 1992 UEFA European Championship after a last-gasp call-up, his late emergence bodes well for the Danes. UEFA European Under-21 Championship record: semi-finals 1992; quarter-finals 1978, 1986. Ukraine Ukraine will make their UEFA European Under-21 Championship finals debut in Portugal, but as part of the USSR they have a rich history at this level. The victors in 1980 and 1990 both had heavy Ukrainian presences, while the current crop are cohesive unit determined to provide a few shocks this summer. Qualifying Olexiy Mykhaylychenko's team had a mixed qualifying campaign, starting with a 3-2 defeat by Denmark before three consecutive victories kick-started their campaign. One-goal losses to Turkey and again against Denmark, either side of a demoralising 1-1 draw in Albania, left Ukraine's hopes of progressing in the balance before they came storming back in the last five games, picking up 13 points from a maximum 15. That was enough to earn a play-off tie against Belgium but again they did it the hard way. A 3-2 home defeat left them in a perilous position, which worsened when they fell further behind in Lokeren before three unanswered goals saw them through. "I think we had more desire to win when it came to the crunch," Mykhaylychenko said. "It is very important for our country to perform well because we are at the very beginning of independent Ukrainian football history". Team guide Artem Milevskyy scored the decisive goal against Belgium three minutes into added time, and his link-up play with FC Metalist Kharkiv striker Ruslan Fomin could be central to Ukraine's hopes in Portugal. The pair fit in well with Mykhaylychenko's counterattacking philosophy, with the towering Milevskyy happy to drop into the side's four-man midfield to provide openings for his pacier partner. His former FC Dynamo Kyiv team-mate Olexandr Aliyev is the creative focal point, and given time and space he can also punish opponents with a blistering long-range shot. FC Illichivets Mariupol's Adrian Pukanych is another dangerous playmaker while Dynamo winger Olexandr Sytnik and FC Metalurh Zaporizhya's Olexiy Godin provide further attacking menace on the flanks. The onus is therefore on either Yevgeniy Cherebyachko or Olexandr Maksymov, both of whom play for FC Arsenal Kharkiv, to provide a defensive balance. Last Updated 29.5.2006 17:30:33CET uefa.com 2 DENMARK v UKRAINE MATCH PRESS KIT And up until their play-off tie, Ukraine's results were built on the foundations of a strong back line. Captain Olexandr Yatsenko orchestrated a defence which leaked just seven goals in 12 group games and although the goalkeeping jersey frequently changed hands, Mykhaylychenko looks likely to opt for Andriy Pyatov of FC Vorskla Poltava after Bohdan Shust received a FIFA World Cup call-up. UEFA European Under-21 Championship record: First appearance. Records for single match finals (since 1992-94 competition) 1992-94 20.04.1994 - Italy 1-0 Portugal (After extra time) (Stade La Mosson, Montpellier, France - 6,263 - Serge Muhmenthaler (SUI)) 1994-96 31.05.1996 - Italy 1-1 Spain (After extra time, Italy win 5-4 on penalties) (Estadio Olímpico de Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain - 35,500 - Günter Benkö (AUT)) 1996-98 31.05.1998 - Greece 0-1 Spain (Ghencea stadium, Bucharest, Romania - 7,000 - L'uboš Michel' (SVK)) 1998-2000 04.06.2000 - Czech Republic 1-2 Italy (Tehelné Pole stadium, Bratislava, Slovakia - 9,170 - Karl-Erik Nilsson (SWE)) 2000-02 28.05.2002 - France 0-0 Czech Republic (After extra time, Czech Republic win 3-1 on penalties) (St. Jakob-Park, Basle, Switzerland - 20,400 - Tom Henning Øvrebø (NOR)) 2002-04 08.06.2004 - Italy 3-0 Serbia and Montenegro (Ruhrstadion, Bochum, Germany - 20,092 - Luis Medina (ESP)) 6: Finals Six single match finals (from a total of 14) have taken place in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship since the finals format changed for the 1992-94 competition.