The OPTA stats provide insights into the upcoming match between France and Ukraine in the play-offs for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Some notable statistics include:
- France is undefeated in seven matches against Ukraine, with four wins and three draws.
- Ukraine has never qualified in the four previous play-offs for World Cup or Euro competitions.
- Teams winning away from home in the first leg of European play-offs have always qualified.
- Didier Deschamps has lost only one of his eight competitive matches as the head of the French national team.
- France has scored 13 goals in the last three matches, as many as in the previous 16.
- Ukraine has kept a clean sheet in six consecutive home matches, averaging 2.3 goals per game.
- Franck Ribéry has scored in three consecutive matches with the French national team.
- Mathieu Valbuena delivered five assists in the last 10 goals for France during the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.
- Franck Ribéry was directly involved in 10 of France’s 15 goals during the qualifiers.
- Karim Benzema is the decisive passer on France’s last three goals against Ukraine.
- Andriy Yarmolenko was involved in eight goals in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, the highest among Ukrainian players.
- Mykhail Fomenko, the head coach of Ukraine, has not lost any of his 10 matches in charge, with a record of eight wins and two draws.
These statistics set the stage for an intriguing match between the two teams, with France being favored based on historical performance and recent form.
