Renowned coach and expert Oleh Fedorchuk shared his impressions of the Ukrainian national team's 3-1 win over France in the 1/4 finals of Euro 2023 (U-21) and told what he expects from the Spain-Ukraine semi-final match to be played today in Bucharest.
Oleg Fedorchuk- Oleg Viktorovich, what did you like most about the game against the French?
- I liked that Rotan cheated. His statements were very loud, but the team played very rationally. He publicly said that he would bend his own line, not paying attention to the opponent, but on the pitch we saw that the team was in a standby mode. It was a bit puzzling for France.
The players understood that they would have to be patient, because the opponent is strong individually. We had an advantage in the team game, especially in the second half. Brazhko played his best match in his career. In my opinion, he has fulfilled his potential. If there are no injuries, he will be the second Stepanenko. He is a powerful, very charismatic, tough player.
- Is playing without a striker in the absence of Vanat and Viunnik a way out of the situation?
- It was unusual for the French that we use the wings. The game with the Swiss youth team showed that their defence is not flawless, relying solely on the high individual skills of their players. In the first half, it more or less worked, and in the second half Brazhko dropped to the centre of defence and levelled the minimal gaps in our defence. Taloverov and Batagov were losing in speed, so they could not do without help.
- Why did France openly drive us around in the first half?
- We have to remember one simple thing: we will never be able to recruit 11 players of the same level as France or Spain. To have 11 top-class players, you need 111 good candidates to choose from. Our main strength is discipline and good interaction between the players. We should not be ashamed of this. We can prevail with other qualities, having Sudakov and Trubin.
- For the first time since independence, Ukraine will be represented at the 2024 Olympics in football. What are our prospects at the Games in Paris?
- It will depend on several factors: the draw and the condition of the team for the Olympics. We understand that half of the youth team is part of the national team. It may be that someone from this youth team will not go to Paris, and we do not have such a large selection of players as in France and Spain, who can assemble a combat-ready team from players of the second or third tier. We also depend on a few players to determine the team's performance.
- Three players over the age of 23 can be added to the application for the Olympics. Who can be in this team among the current stars? Zinchenko? Tsygankov? Dovbyk? Maybe Mykolenko?
- I don't think it will happen. The Olympics are not a motivation for these players. Yes, there are examples of Ronaldinho, Messi, Neymar. Some of the current youth team may fall under age restrictions. Theoretically, clubs may not let Zinchenko and Tsygankov go for their own reasons. I believe that it is the players who won this ticket who should go to the Olympics.
- Will the UAF's decision to keep Rotan as the coach of the Olympic team not hurt the interests of Oleksandriya?
- Someone will suffer: the club or the national team. At the moment, Oleksandriya will suffer more in this regard. It seems to me that Rotan was in a hurry with his decision to work at the club level. No one expected the youth team to progress so rapidly.
Two years ago, this team was failing, and 7-8 players from this squad will join the national team. I predict that Sych, the entire midfield line, and part of the strikers will be in Rebrov's team. In this situation, how can Rotan prepare the team for the Olympics? He needs to convert his success with the youth into work at the club level.
- What can we expect from the semi-final with Spain, when both teams will meet in optimal line-ups?
- There will be a lot of tactics. Something tells me that our euphoria may prevent us from reaching the final. Yes, on the one hand, we have partially got rid of the psychological burden and can play for fun, but on the other hand, the Spaniards had one more day to recover. It seems to me that we will not pass Spain, and the score will be 1-2.
Oleksandr Karpenko
