Ukranian football manager, Andriy Shevchenko, has explained the rationale behind the decision to face Nigeria, an African country, in a friendly despite the fact that his team is preparing for the 2020 European Championship.
According to Shevchenko, the date for the fixture is not a day of friendly matches so finding an European opponent was difficult.
Ukraine, one of the in-form teams in Europe at the moment, put three goals past Lithuania in their latest fixture, a result which keeps them in firm control to qualify for the European Championship.
”First of all, this is due to the fact that a lot of matches are being held now, there is a selection, and most teams are just participating in official matches,” said Shevchenko to Football TV channel.
”This date is not a day of friendly games, so finding a European opponent was very difficult. Therefore, the Association chose to play with the African team.
”This is a very good team. It will be interesting to play against them.”
Shevchenko is expected to hand run-outs to fringe players in the squad in the game against Nigeria which will begin at the Dnipro Arena at 2130 hours local time.