On the eve of the Euro 2024 match between Italy and Ukraine, Dynamo Kyiv head coach Mircea Lucescu shared his opinion on Serhii Rebrov's team.
- After the 1-1 draw with Macedonia, Luciano Spalletti will have to win at all costs. It won't be easy, given the way Ukraine played against England. Rebrov has many players who play in European leagues where they have gained international experience and can play in normal conditions. I mean with the fans in the stands and without the fears associated with the war, even if there are people who have relatives or friends at the front, and so they put something special on the field, playing for the pride of the people.
They are a very organised team, where everyone works for the result. They help their partners, take something from themselves to give to others. There is no egoism, they defend compactly, and when they go on the counterattack, they become very dangerous.
Key players? In the midfield, there are Stepanenko and Sudakov, who play together for Shakhtar and understand each other perfectly. Stepanenko started with me at the age of 20, he is an example for all his teammates. He is a tireless worker, a bit like me. Mudryk is speed and class, Yaremchuk and Dovbyk are physics and goal-orientated. It's hard to tell them apart. Zinchenko has always played outside Ukraine: with PSV, Manchester City and Arsenal, he became a top international player.
In addition, there are my players like Tsygankov, whom I formed here at Dynamo and we sold him to Girona, who is great in the centre of the pitch, and defender Mykolenko, whom we already gave to Everton last year," Lucescu told Tuttosport.