Ivan Hetsko: "This England team could have been beaten"

Former Ukraine forward Ivan Getsko told Kommand1 what prevented the Ukrainian national team from beating England in the Euro 2024 qualifier.

- The match in Wroclaw left a double impression. On the one hand, in the first half, the Ukrainian team looked balanced, with everyone clearly knowing their role. Of course, there were additional bonuses for improvisation in favour of the team. Undoubtedly, the goal scored by Zinchenko after a multi-pass combination added confidence and inspiration. I just wanted to shout out: we can do it whenever we want. However, unfortunately, this desire was somewhat selective. As soon as we let an unnecessary ball into the locker room, it was hard to recognise the nominal hosts after the break...

- Did Mykolenko's gross positional mistake, which helped Walker score, have such a negative effect on our guys?

- It's hard to give a comprehensive answer, although Mykolenko's mistake was really one of those that knocks you out of the rut. But the main thing is that this goal gave the English confidence, made them act more intensely... It was good that Bushchan was at his best, although in the episode with the missed ball he could have played more reliably. However, to be honest, I expected more from the British.

- What do you mean?

- In recent years, the England national team has been characterised by power, maximum dedication, and it was difficult to get out of the grip of their pressure... Yesterday, the British did not demonstrate their potential. There are two reasons for this: either our players didn't allow them to, or the opponent underestimated the Ukrainians. In the end, the comfortable tournament position allowed the guests to play for a draw. It seems to me that this England team could have won in Wroclaw, but for this we had to attack much more...

- Perhaps that's why you had negative impressions of the second half?

- Of course, how could it be otherwise when all our players were focused on not conceding. Usually, such passive tactics are always punished, but Bushchan was in the way for the British. However, the defence didn't make any more gross mistakes.

- Again, strikers Yaremchuk and Dovbyk, who replaced him, left the field without a goal...

- These are players who are not able to create something on their own, they need the help of their partners. Yesterday they were on the main ration, because everyone was focused only on defence. In addition, the pressure of the English prevented us from going on the offensive with large forces.

- But the Ukrainian national team has no shortage of high-speed players, Mudryk alone is worth a lot... Maybe we should have adopted a broken pace, the mobility of the full-backs?

- I repeat, in my opinion, it all came down to keeping the score tied.

- Once again, Mudryk was only sporadically involved in the game...

- He is one of those players who desperately need game practice, which gives confidence. At Chelsea, Mykhailo doesn't have it. This has a negative impact on Mudryk's actions, and yesterday he was not memorable for his aggravation.

By the way, I liked the fact that Serhii Rebrov is not pressured by the authority of his wards. Only those who are one hundred per cent ready take to the pitch.

- Perhaps it was this cohesion, the desire to play through the will that helped in Wroclaw not to lose to the European top team...

- I agree. We must pay tribute to the guys for this. Now the main thing is to recover properly and not to return home from Milan on 12 September with empty luggage. The importance of this match has increased even more after the Italians' unexpected loss of points in yesterday's match with North Macedonia.

Vasily Mikhailov