Well-known Ukrainian journalist Artem Frankov once again spoke on the results of the Nations League match between Ukraine and Scotland (0:0) held last Tuesday in Krakow.
Artem Frankov“Without too much pomp, the pause for the national teams ended, and with it the group tournaments of the mercilessly criticized League of Nations. Let's leave the criticism of the tournament as a whole behind the brackets, anyway, it does not affect anything, but at the same time it is nailed with the deadly argument "anyway, simple freight trains are much worse and more boring." Many people don’t like the institution of national teams, moreover, the further we go, the stronger the pressure from clubs on this matter...
Let's focus on the performance of the Ukrainian national team that disappointed us in the end - only the second place, which did not allow:
a) move up to division "A" to rivals obviously higher in class;
b) led to the loss of our team from the second pot during the Euro 2024 qualifying draw.
Personally, I still have a few questions for Alexander Vasilyevich Petrakov about the first match with Scotland, but the second one hung them up, except perhaps from the other side of the field. As you understand, discussing the match with a standing Armenia does not make the slightest sense - they mocked notably, but 5:0 meant exactly as much to us as 1:0.
one. In light of Zabarny's disqualification: why did Bondar (184 cm) play, and not Krivtsov (186 cm - only two cm more, but he plays better on top!) or Kacharaba (189 cm)? These are the British, and not the English, but those who are charged to serve and hang!
2. What is the reason for the apparent functional failure of the national team - where did our team get so tired that the overweight of the Scots caught the eye of even a person who was extremely far from football?
3. Corner kicks... Well, they are a separate story, especially considering that in the second match, Scotland could have scored against us right after the corner (Ryan Jack hit higher).
four. Substitutions in the Krakow match. First of all, what was the point of keeping on the field almost until the last Yarmolenko, who is clearly out of shape and, moreover, on a heavy, wet field? Did you hope for the insight of an overexperienced master? And Tsygankov instead of Mudrik, it was a strengthening, well... At least after that, ours no longer had any chances, although even before that they did not abound.
Least. Agree, working questions that have a right to exist. I fully admit that the answers to them are quite simple, but they are “not taken out of the hut,” Frankov wrote in the latest issue of the electronic version of the Football magazine.
