Injuries are a problem, too, with Yarmolenko and Konoplyanka rushing to recover fitness and form after missing Ukraine's three World Cup qualifying games in March. A lengthy legal battle ensued before the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled Ukraine lost the game by default and they were relegated. After a string of players and staff members tested positive for the coronavirus, the whole team was quarantined by Swiss officials and couldn't play its last Nations League game. Ukraine has had a tougher time than most national teams amid the pandemic.
Pyatov was on the team which finished second at the 2006 European Under-21 Championship, but Ukraine didn't qualify for the 2010, 2014 or 2018 editions of the World Cup. Turning potential into senior success is an old problem for Ukraine, though. He has played five more times since then and helped to stabilise the team ahead of Euro 2020. Zabarnyi's international debut came in October as the team, diminished by coronavirus cases, was routed by France 7-1 in a friendly. Eighteen-year-old central defender Illya Zabarnyi broke into Dynamo Kyiv's team this season and played in all 10 of the club's games in the Champions League and Europa League against opponents like Barcelona and Juventus. Ukraine's most exciting young player was too young for that Under-20 team in 2019.
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