Former midfielder of the Ukrainian national team Valery Kryventsov analyzed yesterday's match of the 5th round of the League of Nations Armenia - Ukraine (0:5).
Valery Kriventsov- Of course, I did not expect such a score, considering the events of the first half, — said Kriventsov. — Before the break, the Ukrainian national team scored a super-important goal, and after it, Armenia physically sat down, and that's it... The Ukrainians in the second half converted their chances very effectively. The one who scores wins. Why the Armenians in the first half of the game could not hit the gates of Lunin is their problem.
- Alexander Petrakov did not just rotate the squad after the defeat from Scotland, but completely changed the team - one hundred percent. Was it a risk?
— Any decision of a coach is a risk. And such a step, when completely different players enter the match within the same tournament, is also a big risk. The emotions of the players of our team after the failure in Scotland were negative, so Petrakov had to guess - both with the starting line-up and with substitutions. Everything went better for the coach and for the team.
- Tymchyk can be considered the man of the match, because his goal and effective assist actually provided a solid advantage for the Ukrainian team?
- Undoubtedly. He has good speed and he used it very effectively. But we should also mention the significant contribution of Zubkov, who distinguished himself with two assists. Ignatenko is also well done. He had a very good match. I hope this goal scored will help him become a leader in the Ukrainian national team.
- Armenia has always been a difficult opponent for the Ukrainians, but in this meeting, the Armenians suffered a complete fiasco...
— I played against Armenia in Yerevan. This team has always had a lot of technical players. I know that you need to play very tightly with the Armenians. Today the Ukrainian team managed to do it. The Ukrainians proved that they are stronger than the opponent in all respects.
I think that after the first and second conceded goals, the home team should have reacted to the change in the situation in a different way - to put pressure on the Ukrainians higher, to take the ball away with a larger group of players. But everything was the other way around - the guests continued to have freedom on the field, which they took advantage of.
- Did the Armenian national team lack its leader - Henrikh Mkhitaryan?
— I don't think that everything depends on one player, even on Mkhitaryan. The Armenians could and should have avoided many mistakes in their own game, but it turned out differently.
- The Ukrainian national team has a decisive match ahead - against Scotland. Petrakov will rotate again?
— The coach always has a choice. The coach sees who has what mood, physical condition, and so on. Figuratively speaking, there is no one magic pill that would help out every time. There is good competition in the national team now - two or three players of equal class are applying for each position. Of course, Alexander Petrakov will have to take into account not only the opponent's style of play, but also predict the pace of the match so that there will be a lot of struggle.
- Lunin played well against the Armenians. Should the decisive match with Scotland be rotated to the number one position and returned to Trubin's goal?
- I would entrust a place at the gate to Lunin. This is an important psychological moment. But this does not mean at all that Trubin is a weaker goalkeeper.
Oleg Semenchenko
