Serhii Kovalets spoke about the matches of the Ukrainian national team against England and Italy for the UPL TV telegram channel.
- The matches left us with more positive feelings - in terms of the game, dedication and desire. We played with top rivals who can put together 2-3 teams and this will not negatively affect the quality of the game and the result.
- What differences did you see between the matches against England and Italy?
- Against the English, our team organised team defence well and carried out quality attacks in response, which led to a great goal by Zinchenko as a result of a multi-pass move with Tsygankov and Konoplya.
- And against the Italians?
- I think Italy played their best football since they became European champions.
- What did we lack?
- A little bit of emotion. We could not fully recover psychologically after England. Somewhere it was clear that Italy lacked the energy and courage that we had with the English. Matches in 2 on 3 with the top teams are still difficult for us. Moreover, Spalletti made a rotation, changed the group of players.
- What can you say about the football that Rebrov is trying to teach the national team?
- First of all, the maximum organisation of the game. The coaching staff really assesses the possibilities in matches with top opponents and intends to play more defensively. Yes, these opponents had more possession of the ball and struck. But playing open football with them is even harder. A quick transition from defence to attack is the key thing we need to do well to get a result in such a game. With the Italians, the team play in defence should have been better, because the opponent created a lot of chances and Bushchan made a lot of saves.
- Is it worth mentioning any of our players personally?
- I would focus on the team. A fan will forgive everything but indifference. The team had no indifference. The guys played sincerely for their country. This is very important during the war. My two sons-in-law are serving at the front line. One of them sent me a photo and wrote: "We are watching the national team match and are on duty. There is shelling". I got goosebumps. This is important! The soldiers note that the players are not indifferent!