Ukraine captain Andriy Yarmolenko has summed up the results of yesterday's Euro 2024 qualifying match against Northern Macedonia (3-2).
Andriy Yarmolenko. Photo - uaf.ua- Why didn't everything work out in the first half?
- Probably because the Northern Macedonian team played very well and we played poorly. We did not manage to implement on the pitch what we had agreed before the game. It`s ok, it`s football, it happens when you play badly. But the most important thing is that we managed to turn the tide in the match. As they say, the game is forgotten, but the result remains.
I congratulate all the Ukrainians with this victory! I think today we have shown that we are true Ukrainians: we fight to the end for the victory.
I would also say that in football there is a special thrill, when something does not work out at first, but then the team shows its character and gets three points.
- How can you comment on Mudryk's two assists? Congratulated him?
- We all congratulated each other. Football is a team game. Mudryk was very good, he gave us two assists. Well done to Tsygankov for scoring the decisive goal. But all the guys have given everything they had. I think everyone saw it today.
- Have you used the game with Northern Macedonia in Euro 2020 to prepare for this match?
- No, we have not analyzed that match. We studied the last 3-4 matches of the Macedonians. We had all the information about the opponent. The coaching staff told us about the strong and weak points of the Northern Macedonian national team, explained why we could get the result. But in the first half we didn't do what we should have done. We couldn't do anything from a team point of view. We couldn't go from defence to attack, conceding counterattacks. We understood all that.
The coaching staff made adjustments at half time. In addition, we were losing a lot of fight. We talked among ourselves about it, we understood that we would try to win physical battles. In addition, pressing in the first half was not what we would like to see. After making adjustments in the second half, we started doing much better, hence the final result.
Dynamo.kiev.ua thanks Leonid Veselkov for his assistance in preparing this material.
