Former Dynamo Kyiv midfielder Dmitry Mikhailenko shared his impressions of the Euro 2024 qualifying match between England and Ukraine (2:0), which took place last Sunday in London.
Dmitry Mikhailenko- After the match between Ukraine and England at Euro 2024, there are a lot of negative assessments in the media and social networks. Did you like this match in general?
- I liked the courage with which the players tried to start attacks from the goalkeeper, from their gates. But I didn’t like the fact that absolutely nothing worked in the attack. The players did not really understand how to act in the third zone, how to create chances, how to threaten the goal. In principle, a small number of shots confirms that they never found the key to the opponent's goal in 90 minutes, or even the opportunity to create an opportunity.
I expected that the Ukrainian team would be able to show a good game and maybe even cling to some result. The beginning of the game made me think that this could happen. In the first 20 minutes, the British did not manage to break through the gate or create any kind of threat. And then, after quickly scoring two goals, it turned out that the Ukrainian team could not turn the tide of the game, and the England team did not really want to increase pressure on the opponent's goal.
— But the composition of the team also raised a lot of questions. Why did Artem Dovbik remain on the bench, while Yaremchuk, whose form is now beyond scrutiny, came out at the start? And instead of Tsygankov, who, frankly, is now at his best, Malinovsky, who has a completely different functionality on the field, turned out to be on the flank.
- These are coaching decisions. They are accepted based on the results of the collection, viewing of players. From the outside it is hard to judge why they are accepted - for this you need to be in a team.
If there is still an opportunity to follow English football, and it was possible to see what psychological state Zinchenko was in in recent weeks, then representatives of other championships are not visible at all. Mudrik is generally in search of his game now, trying to adapt to the rhythm, the intensity of the best league in the world. In the match, it was clear that Zinchenko tried and helped his partners a lot, he wanted to lead the game behind him. It is evident that he understood how to influence in order to achieve a positive result. As for Mudrik, he rather disappeared on the field.
Yaremchuk a couple of years ago, he showed a much brighter game. Now he is far from his ideal condition. The same applies to Mikolenko and our other representatives in foreign championships. For Tsygankov, substitution with the score 0:2 is not a very favorable situation. It was hard to go out and change the game.
- How would you assess the prospects of the Ukrainian team for this qualifying round as a whole?
- Now the Ukrainian national team is in some kind of transitional phase, there is a change of generations. The political and military situation is also not conducive to the national team showing any stable game. Here all factors play their role. When players travel a lot and are not at home for a long time, this also leaves a certain imprint. Plus, the psychological state of the guys is not optimal. This game cycle will be very difficult, taking into account the strength of England and Italy. It will be very difficult to achieve a result under such circumstances in this qualifying round.
Daniil Vereitin
