Ukraine -Nigeria: Andriy Shevchenko, has explained the rationale behind the decision to face Nigeria

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.