Former Dynamo Kyiv and Ukraine coach Leonid Buryak analysed yesterday's Euro 2024 qualifying match between Ukraine and Malta (1-0).
Leonid Buriak- We shouldn't be surprised by the minimal victory over Malta, because all European teams are now acting in an organised and selfless manner. I liked the Maltese national team. This team plays good football, goes from defence to attack through the pass. Yes, the Maltese lack conditioning and skill, some of them, as I noticed when they took off their shirts, with bellies... However, Malta looked good as a team.
I would like to note that every victory is important for the Ukrainian national team now - both at the front and on the football field. The national team's coaching staff has enough material to analyse after the matches against Northern Macedonia and Malta. Of course, against Malta we played with a reserve. Why didn't Mykolenko and Mudryk come out in the starting line-up? Perhaps they had quality problems. You need to know this from the inside.
- The fate of the match with Malta was decided by a penalty kick scored by Tsygankov. Before that, there was an 11-metre penalty that Yarmolenko missed. Did the referee make the right decisions by pointing to the spot twice?
- Yes, both penalties were one hundred per cent. In the first case, the ball fell on the Maltese's hand from the shoulder, but this hand blocked the ball's path to the goal. So it was an 11-metre penalty. In the second case, the opponent put his foot out and it was a clear foul.
- Yarmolenko doesn't have the best penalty kick statistics. Why did he take responsibility for the penalty kick?
- Yarmolenko's authority is such that no one could say: don't hit it, let me try. In addition, Andriy wanted to improve his scoring record in matches for the national team. But he missed... It happens to everyone.
- Tsygankov, however, made the 11-metreer confidently. How can you assess Viktor's performance against the Maltese in general?
- I saw Tsygankov's matches for Girona. Viktor played steadily, gained good conditioning, and is still, in football terms, on a roll. Tsygankov does a lot of work both at Girona and in the Ukrainian national team.
- When he was replaced, Malinowski did not seem to be very happy with the coaching decision. However, Serhii Rebrov seems to still need time to get to know the players, to determine the basis of this Ukrainian national team...
- Acquaintance? I disagree. Before starting to work with the national team, Serhii Rebrov saw everything, collected the necessary information. Rebrov carefully prepared for this working stage and knows every player of the national team of Ukraine well. However, it is good that the Blue and Yellows, despite the difficulties, won the matches against Northern Macedonia and Malta. This will have a positive impact on Serhii Rebrov's future work. And imagine what would have happened if our team had lost points... Then everyone would have to wait for the next qualifying cycle - for the 2026 World Cup.
- However, the veterans of the national team, or the Guardsmen, as it is now more commonly said, Yarmolenko and Stepanenko are unlikely to play until the 2026 World Cup. Perhaps it would be better for them not to start the qualifying cycle for Euro 2024?
- Yarmolenko, I should note, is in good condition. Therefore, everything is logical. As for Stepanenko, "physics" is important in his game. Taras does a lot of useful, important and not very noticeable at first glance work. There are players on the way to Stepanenko's position, but so far, no one can displace him from the base.
- In September, the Ukrainian national team will face tough and decisive matches against England and Italy. What is Serhii Rebrov's plan for the summer?
- He has a clip at his disposal, which he will have to rely on. Unfortunately, these are not 25 high-level players, but only five or six. After the youth Euro 2023, it will be possible and necessary to take someone to the national team, but there will not be many of them... In general, young guys need to play at least 10 matches of a very high level per season, and 50 matches in total, not 10-12.
Of course, against England and Italy, it will be difficult for our national team with such a game. In addition, we will not be awarded penalties like in the game against Malta. And yet, let's be optimistic. I believe that if the national team played the Euro 2024 qualifiers in Kyiv, at the NSC Olimpiyskiy, which was filled to capacity, we would have a much better chance of defeating Italy.
Oleh Semenchenko
