Ukraine and Northern Ireland both kicked off their Euro 2016 campaigns with defeats, meaning their encounter in Lyon on Thursday is especially important. Ukraine will certainly head in as the more confident of the two teams, with Mykhaylo Fomenko's side having turned in an impressive performance despite eventually succumbing to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of reigning World Cup champions Germany. They went close to equalizing several times after Shkodran Mustafi headed their opponents into the lead, only to eventually be caught short in stoppage time at the end of the match by a fine Bastian Schweinsteiger strike.
Ukraine vs. Northern Ireland, Euro 2016 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch online
Ukraine take on Northern Ireland in Lyon on Thursday.
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Northern Ireland only lost by a single goal against Poland, but they were completely outclassed for the entire match. Michael O'Neill set his side up in a defensive shape, though with striker Kyle Lafferty completely isolated up top, he tried to play a little more adventurously. However, before long Arkadiusz Milik punished the ambition, and by the final whistle, Northern Ireland were lucky their deficit was just a single goal. It'll be interesting to see whether O'Neill's men play similarly defensively in this crucial fixture.
These sides haven’t faced off since being drawn in the same qualifying group ahead of Euro 2004. Both matches then ended without a single goal having been scored. Let’s hope the importance of this fixture means we see a little more excitement than we did back then.
To watch this match online in the United States, you'll be using the WatchESPN service. For listings in the rest of the world, check out LiveSoccerTV.
TV: ESPN (US - English); ESPN Deportes (US - Spanish); TSN, RDS (Canada); ITV 1, BBC Northern Ireland (UK); Kanal Ukrayina, Belarus 5 (Ukraine)
Match Date/Time: Thursday, 12 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. local
Venue: Stade de Lyon, Lyon, France
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