Well-known Ukrainian coach and football expert Vyacheslav Grozny shared his expectations from the game of the Ukrainian national team against Scotland.
V'yacheslav Grozny- For me, as a Ukrainian, our team will be the favorite of the match. We play at home, and Poland has already become one for us. Many Ukrainians will come to support us. Also, we easily beat Armenia in class, having fun. Could have scored more. The advantage of our team is in psychology and greater freshness. On Saturday, the Scots played such a hard game with the Irish that they will not have time to recover. We will be fresher. The absence of McTominay, who plays in Manchester United in the first team, will also be a plus. Also, the Scots will not have the support they always have in home matches.
With the return of Zabarny and, perhaps, the game of Krivtsov, the advantage that the Scots had in riding wrestling will no longer exist. Petrakov likes to play three central defenders when Tymchik and Mikolenko are doing great, like yesterday, on the flanks. Yarmolenko is a high quality player. He changed the club, but the level of the UAE championship is quite good. He is in good shape and with unconventional thinking. I doubt that Ignatenko will be paired with Stepanenko. I think that those who spent no more than a half will play at the start. It is important to use the capabilities of the reactive Mudrik, but to give a pass when he started to start. In the first match, the players of the Ukrainian national team had, as they say, "weights on their legs." What is it connected with? Probably with moving and the fact that not all the guys play in the main squads.
You need to forget your "I" in such matches. Here, the interests of the team are more important than their own egoism. This is an important point. Here is the decisive match, everything is at stake and the draw basket for Euro 2024. Forget "I" in this game. The absence of Zinchenko and Shaparenko means a lot. Yes it's true. There is no one to replace Zinchenko, and he gives the last pass. Malinovsky can still do it, but he is alone and they can block him. If Pikhalenok or Ignatenko is assigned to Ruslan, then they have less experience than Zinchenko. Is it possible to say that Ignatenko can replace Sasha? No. The Armenian national team did not put pressure, did not cover - ours played as the opponent allowed. And the Scots won't let you play like that. Ignatenko looked good with the Armenians, but he needs experience to play against opponents like Scotland from the first minutes. Well, we don't have another Zinchenko who gives the last pass. Kevin De Bruyne from Manchester City and the Belgian national team, ask to be replaced.
On the right - Tymchik and Karavaev. I don't see any problems. We will use flanks, laterals, and wingers will move and create a numerical advantage. In the center of defense, Matvienko and Zabarny are very fast. In the first match against the Scots, apart from Zinchenko and Shaparenko, we had a noticeable loss of Zabarny, and it’s good that he is already in the game. The base zone is secure. Sidorchuk will not play, but there is Stepanenko. They are equally high level players. Dovbik plays better when he comes on as a substitute, but maybe he will also appear in the starting lineup with the Scots. There are many components that have been studied and analyzed by our coaching staff. We conceded two goals from the Scots after headers. This is important to note. Kryvtsov, Zabarny, Stepanenko play well with their heads, so let's hope that by this match the national team will work on standards and horsemanship.
The score will be in our favor. Most likely 2:0. I think so, but I rarely guess the score. There is confidence that we will win, like all of us, Ukrainians," the expert said.
