Ukraine v Iceland Betting Tip

If you had backed either of these two teams to do well at Euro 2016 it would have no doubt been Ukraine, however, Iceland were the ultimate surprise package and went all the way to the quarter finals, recording a memorable victory over England in the process.

Ukrainian football legend Andriy Shevchenko has taken over the national team job of his homeland despite having no previous managerial experience in what is certainly a risky move for the former Chelsea striker. There will be no middle ground; he will either be a great success and establish himself as one of the greatest Ukrainian sportsmen ever or he will fail miserably and kill off the memories of his great playing career.

The Ukrainians had a dreadful Euro 2016 and finished bottom of Group C without scoring a single goal. A squad upheaval was inevitable as the somewhat ‘golden generation’ passed the baton onto a younger group of players. Much like new coach Shevchenko, this new blood could either propel the national team forward or they may have troubled finding their feet.

Iceland were fantastic at Euro 2016 and it will be interesting to see how they will cope now that other teams know their system inside out. This campaign will prove whether Iceland were just a one tournament wonder who will never qualify for a major championship again, or, whether the improvement of the game at grassroots level is able to bear fruit consistently.

Although former head coach Lars Lagerbäck has left the role, his deputy Heimir Hallgrímsson (a former dentist) has taken the reins. This is the perfect choice for the Icelanders as the players will not need to adjust to new coaching methods and will be able to stick to their successful formula.

Hallgrímsson’s first squad is pretty much the same as the one that went to France in the summer and the spine of the team is very much intact so we can hopefully expect similar performances from the small island nation.

The bookies have gone very heavily in favour of Ukraine given they are at home and Iceland’s constant underdog status, however, I am not so sure about them. As previously mentioned, they have a new coach and set of players who are all incredibly inexperienced. They will be performing in front of an expectant home crowd and I am not sure how they will deal with it; especially against difficult opposition like Iceland.

This is actually the perfect game for Iceland, all the pressure is on Ukraine and the Icelanders can once again come and spoil the party. Iceland have kept a good core of players who will be hungry for more success after their brilliant European Championship and I would back them to once again surprise the footballing world on Monday night at 4/1.

See more World Cup Qualifying tips here.