Former head coach of the Ukrainian national team Leonid Buryak assessed the game of the Ukrainian national team in the Euro 2024 qualifying match with Italy (1:2), which took place yesterday in Milan.
Leonid Buryak. Photo - fcdynamo.com- The game against England took a lot of energy from our players, " Buriak said . - It often happens that the second consecutive game with a difficult opponent is worse than the previous one. We must admit - Italy had an advantage and won deservedly.
- What happened in the first 20-30 minutes, when the Ukraine national team looked confused?
- The Italians are better than our players in terms of skill. Plus the Italian team played at home, and even after a bad previous match, so they had nowhere to go. It is important that our team can play against any national team, we have a lot of quality performers, but there are also those who are given too high advances ...
- Were you not surprised by the appearance of Dovbik and Yarmolenko in the starting lineup?
- Here everything is determined by the coach. Perhaps, who had injuries, we do not know. Therefore, they play stronger. As for Andriy Yarmolenko, he is a very important player for any team. Yes, after the injury he lost some of his tone, but as long as there was strength, Andriy acted useful, and scored a goal. There should be players like Yarmolenko in every line of the national team!
- How much did the first goal to Buschan, when Sudakov fell and lost the ball in a simple situation, affect the course of the match?
- Sudakov is not a defensive player. Therefore, he had no right to pass the opponent, playing in defence. This, of course, is a gross mistake. I was surprised by such a pressing of the Italians. Spalletti changed so many players for this match, and the team played such good football! I liked the play of Zagnolo, Barella and Frattesi. And the whole Italian defence line did a great job against our passive attacks. Yes, of course, there were mistakes in the moment with Yarmolenko's goal, and this scored goal increased the intrigue, but in general, the Italians created many chances, and hit the crossbar, and Buschan saved the guests so much. Italy was very mobile and with a lot of skill.
- Can you mention anyone in the Ukraine national team?
- I must praise Zabarny, Buschan and Yarmolenko. I would like to note that the substitutions in our team were unsuccessful. None of those who came on during the game did not strengthen it. And if Buyalskiy and Vanatu simply did not have enough time, Mudryk and Yaremchuk could not prove themselves. In general, I note that it is time for our team to grow up, because one normal counterattack for the whole match is not enough. With England it passed, but not with Italy. In addition, we lost all the standards, and everything that the Italians performed from the standards was unsafe.
- What are the prospects of the Ukraine national team in the fight for second place in the group?
- Everything will be finally decided only in the match Ukraine - Italy. Before that, of course, each team risks losing precious points somewhere. The same Italians will still play with England.... So, we are waiting for intrigue.
I should note that the conditional status of home matches of our national team does not allow us to fully hope for normal refereeing, especially in matches against top teams. I hope that by November, when we will again face Italy, all our players will add to the game, will fully roll into the season. Sergei Rebrov has good material at hand - there is a choice, and the coach will sort it out. I think that for one point in two consecutive games against such teams as England and Italy, we should only thank the Ukraine national team!
Oleg Semenchenko
