Iraq vs Ukraine

Olympic Games, KO: 18:00 24 Jul 2024, Groupama Stadium

BOTH Iraq and Ukraine will be looking to start the Olympic Games on a winning note when the two face off at the Groupama Stadium on Wednesday evening.

Both sides are in a seemingly devilishly difficult position, alongside Argentina and Morocco.

Iraq dramatically secured a ticket to this summer’s highlight by beating Indonesia 2-1 in extra time in the battle for third place at the Asian Under-23 Cup in Qatar.

The Lions of Mesopotamia finished fourth at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, but if they could survive Group B this time around, that would be a success in itself.

Ukraine is aiming to outperform its first team at Euro 2024, which was knocked out at the first hurdle in Group F.

The Blue and Yellow team, who have never before appeared on the Olympic football podium, reached the final this year after reaching the semi-finals of the European Under-21 Championship.

How the bookmakers see it: Ukraine will dominate

Ukraine are favourites at 7/10 on Betfred to claim the most points from their Group B opener on Wednesday night. With a low score expected, adding less than 4.5 match goals would push the odds up to a much more attractive 10/11 on Betfred.

Iraq are unpredictable underdogs at Betfred with odds of 18/5, while a close match on the first day of play can be backed at odds of 23/10 at the same bookmaker.

Head to head: History book empty

Iraq and Ukraine have never crossed paths on the international stage. With both sides facing Argentina and Morocco in their next matches, claiming three points here could be crucial to their respective qualification chances.

Players to watch: Iraq hope for a boost from Jasim

Iraq will look to highly-rated 20-year-old Ali Jasim for inspiration. The Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya forward finished as top scorer at the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup last season.

Maksym Taloverov was included in Ukraine’s squad for Euro 2024 and the stylish defender will play a key role at the Olympics.

Expected line-ups

Iraq have a fairly settled line-up, so it is unlikely that manager Radhi Shenaishil will make too many changes.

Ukraine boss Ruslan Rotan is expected to field the same eleven players who drew 2-2 in their last friendly against Paraguay last week.

Iraq: Hassan; Saadon, Tahseen, Al Imam, Maknzi; K Mohammed; M Mohammed, N Mohammed, Jasim, Hassan; Ridha

Ukraine: Fesyun; Krupskyi, Salyuk, Taloverov, Martynyuk; Veleten, Rubchynskyi, Shostak, Khlan; Fedor, Sikan

Is there anything else that stands out?

Ukraine are on the verge of scoring two or more goals against Betfred on Wednesday night and that is very attractive.

Ruslan Rotan’s team have scored two or more goals in six of their last seven matches in all competitions.

In addition, Iraq has only managed to keep a clean sheet once in its last twelve engagements, making the Blue and Yellow are attractive prospects to swell the net twice in the event of a draw (Betfred).

This Olympic match between Iraq and Ukraine will be played on 24 Jul 2024 and will start at 18:00. Check out our tipsters’ best prediction for Iraq vs Ukraine below. You can also visit our special betting previews section for the most up-to-date predictions.

Read further