Oleg Matveev, former FC Shakhtar Donetsk and FC Dynamo Kyiv, has analysed the recent friendly between Germany and Ukraine and said he does not expect any major changes in the Ukrainian squad for today's encounter with Northern Macedonia in the Euro 2024 qualifying round.
Oleg Matveev - We were all aware of the task that Sergei Rebrov and his coaching staff now face. The new head coach needs to see the condition of all the players called up for the training camp as soon as possible. Some of them he knows better, some - worse.
The sparring with Germany is a serious test for all players in our national team. It seems to me that those who had more match practice got into the starting line-up. Mykhailo Mudryk was perhaps the exception. But I think no one has questioned Mudryk's place in the starting line-up.
As for the game in Bremen, our national team played decent games against Bundestimm. In general, we saw good football performed by the Ukraine national team players. It is clear that it is impossible to play first choice away against the national team of Germany. Our coaching staff tried to play on our strong qualities. As a result, we scored all three goals after our counterattacks.
- What else did you enjoy in the game of our national team?
- To be honest, I was watching very closely how our boys played in defence. It was evident how players closed zones, midfield players actively helped their partners.
- What do you associate the difficult start to the match? There were unplanned mistakes, conceded goal...
- Playing from our own goal, we wanted to keep the ball and not just kick it forward. And let's not forget against whom we played. Although, I cannot say that Hans-Dieter Flick's charges gave their all. Still, it was a sparring. Our boys regrouped on time and made the opponents to make mistakes. Just remember, with the scoreline at 3-1, Tymchyk could have dribbled the ball to his partner, instead of kicking it himself. Even then, Ukraine were on the verge of winning 4-1. Zubkov also had a good chance. Yes, Sane hit the crossbar and Füllkrug failed to convert his one-on-one challenge on Trubin. This is football. Germans haven`t created many chances at our goal.
- Is it a shame that the Ukrainian team has lost and could not defeat Germany for the first time in history?
- Yes, it is. I think our players are upset with the final score. But we must praise our players. And the coaching staff led by Serhiy Rebrov should be applauded. The Ukraine national team were close to winning. I think that much closer than their opponents.
- During such a difficult period that Ukraine is going through, is the help from the whole world and Germany in particular very important?
- Absolutely. It was the 1000th game in the history of the Bundestimm made a sparring with our national team. This game also had political overtones. Everyone understands that. There were a lot of Ukrainians at Weserstadion. Before the game, the German press had written that the stadium would be packed, and after the defeat against Belgium in March, the German team was set to win only.
-Do you agree with the fans who named Viktor Tsygankov the best player of the match?
- I agree. He benefited from the transfer to Girona. He plays in a strong Spanish league, and Viktor looks very worthy there. Let's see not only how he plays offensively, but also how he performs defensively. Tsygankov, Yarmolenko and even Mudryk have started to play in tackling. Mudrik and Tsygankov have not played like that in the Ukrainian championship. But in Europe it is a norm, a necessity.
- A pair of central defenders Zabarniy and Matvienko is non-alternative?
- They are our best defenders today, although we should look more closely at Bondar. Ilya and Mykola played well with their goals and positively too. The exception was Matvienko`s mistake in the episode with Haverets`s goal. But he was not backed up.
- After 8 months, the Ukraine national team finally have a head coach. One can`t meet such an event in the world football. Do you agree?
- Yes, at the end of September 2022, Petrakov played his last official match at the helm of the national team. And then... It is hard to say what happened, not knowing all the details. Probably, the UAF leaders were waiting for Sergei Rebrov to finish his contract in the UAE.
Now, with Rebrov in place, we have seen a completely different game of our national team. I don't want to say anything bad against Ruslan Rotan, but there was practically no intelligible game against England in March. The head coach has a responsibility and the players feel it. In the match against Germany, everyone fought for the result. It is always important in football.
- Now our team will have an important European Championship qualifying game against Northern Macedonia. Will Serhiy Rebrov make any changes in the starting line-up?
- I think, if any changes, they will be 1-2 at the most. Perhaps Konoplya will be more useful in attacking than Tymchyk. Although Sasha looked good in Bremen. But anyway, we all saw the great potential of the Ukraine national team.
