Andriy Yarmolenko: "If you want, you can criticize me for the chance I didn't score"

Midfielder of Al Ain and the Ukrainian national team Andriy Yarmolenko commented on the result of the match with Scotland (0:0) in the Nations League.

— We didn't score our chances. This happens in football.

- Why was there no last push at the end of the match?

— It seems to me that it was. There were attempts to score a goal. It is clear that we needed to win. I think you saw that there was one corner, the other. Everything we could, we did. I think the guys are great. They gave their best, gave their all to get the result.

- At the start of the match, there was a lot of struggle, a lot of fouls. It was clear that you want to immediately take the ball away from someone else's half of the field. Was it a coaching setup?

- Yes, it was the coaching setup - to play aggressively, win heels, win the fight, because in the first match we lost all this and lost the game. In football, it is really very important to win the fight. Win rebounds. I have not seen the statistics yet, but I am sure that we played much better than in the first match. We played, one might say, at home. There was a full stadium, the fans drove us forward. I think we deserved to win. But when you don't score chances like I had, you won't win the game.

- How did the ball (after Yarmolenko's hit - approx. Tribuna.com) not fly there?

- That happens. Sometimes you can score from some half-moment when no one expects some kind of rebound or something else. And sometimes you don't score 100% chances and it costs the team the result. Of course, it's a shame that they didn't score their chances. If they had scored, the game would have turned out differently.

Of course, I understand that I am an attacking player and must score goals. It's obvious. I understand that I have to score such moments.

- When did you find out that Petrakov was leaving the national team?

- And who told you that?

- I will not say.

— Ah. Well then, I won't tell you either.

— You can argue about the last minutes. In my opinion, there was no classic bulk.

"Are you saying that we didn't fight?" We can argue. There was one corner on one side, the other on the other. It is not clear if there was a penalty. If the judge did not put it, then it was not there. I just don't know what kind of bulk you expect - for the goalkeeper to go? Of course, I also wanted it to end in a goal, and we won.

I’ll say it again — all the guys gave their maximum today. No one has questions about dedication: neither the fans, nor you, even though you are trying to find fault with something, but you will not succeed. All the guys are great. There can be no complaints about bestowal and the desire to win. If we scored our chances, then these questions would not exist. I'm ready for criticism. If you want, you can criticize me for the moment that I didn't score.

Iryna KOZYUPA