Famous journalist Mykola Nesenyuk commented on the Ukraine-England match (1-1) in the Euro 2024 qualifiers on his Facebook page.
Of all the things that happened at the Wroclaw stadium during the Ukraine-England match, the best was the performance of the Ukrainian national anthem by the packed stadium. The English fans, who are usually the best at singing, were clearly shocked - they had not expected such unity among tens of thousands of Ukrainians. This was transmitted to the players.
Something similar happened at the end of 2013 when the thunder of Marseille at the stadium in Paris stunned our team and they lost before the game. The English could have lost, but the difference in the level of the players was too noticeable. After the game, our coach talked about the game plan that was "destroyed" by the opponents. In fact, there could only be one plan - to keep the defence and hope for an opponent's mistake. And that's exactly what happened.
Why didn't this happen during the two previous matches against the same opponents, which the English won without breaking a sweat? The answer is simple - this time our team had a coach. That's why the English, who this time expected an easy win, were surprised and didn't recover until the end of the game.
You can criticise our coaches for at least two mistakes with the line-up, you can blame the players for not always successful actions, but it should be noted that for the first time in many years we had a national team, not just a collection of players. It was clear that the players really believed in the coach, and did not pretend to do so, as they had done before.
Serhii Rebrov is not a miracle worker. He cannot improve the rather mediocre level of our players. But he has obviously managed to make the team look good. We will no longer be outplayed by one left back, as it used to be. This is what we will have to take comfort in.
If we manage to prevent the Italians from playing on Tuesday, then there is a chance not to lose and stay in the fight for the Euro 24. But Rebrov and his team have already deserved gratitude!
Mykola Neseniuk