The performance of the national team at the legendary San Siro arena in Milan was the main topic of discussion in the national sports media last week.
A few days earlier, Serhii Rebrov's men were the first to take points from England, who had only won the Euro 2024 qualifiers before meeting the Ukrainians. Our guys put up a fight against Gareth Southgate's star team, which already has one foot in the final stage of the European Championship in Germany.
Of course, appetite comes with eating. The result in Wroclaw, Poland, and a gift from North Macedonia in the form of a draw with Italy gave Ukrainian fans hope for the best of the Blue and Yellows' voyage to the Apennines. Therefore, there was a lot of bravado in the information space regarding the upcoming game.
In the lair of a wounded beast
However, most of the domestic media and experts were cautious in their predictions and even fearful of the meeting with the Azzurri. In their opinion, after the misfire in Skopje, the team was supposed to play the role of a wounded animal that would seek to rehabilitate itself in front of its own audience at home.
"TheItalians are approaching this match with their backs against the wall. Of course, even a defeat against Ukraine will not be a verdict for them, because there will be a lot of tournament distance ahead to save themselves, plus one more game with the blue and yellows in the last round. But if the Scuadra Azzurra fails to take three points in front of their home fans, it will make absolutely everyone involved in the team seriously nervous, and they definitely do not need these extra nerves in an easy (and this is how this group is assessed in Italy, I'm sure) group. After Saturday's results, many Ukrainian fans are hastily underestimating this far from perfect Italy, but a wounded and driven animal is always the most dangerous," Mykhailo Tsiruk warned on Xsport.ua (12.09.23).
We should have also taken into account the calendar, with which the Blue and Yellows were frankly unlucky. In a short period of time - with only two days to recover - the Ukrainians had to play against two top rivals. The physical condition alone made it difficult to face Italy, not to mention the level of the opponent, who had a much greater choice of players. And the match against England took a lot of energy from our players.
"TheItalians will be extremely motivated to beat Ukraine. This is a challenge for Rebrov - how to play against such a team. The guys may not be able to play physically. Based on this, you should build the game," former Ukraine coach Jozsef Szabo emphasised this aspect in an interview with Footboom1.com (12.09.23 ).
The latest results of the Apennines should not have misled either. Perhaps Italy's current star is currently weaker than England. However, this weakness can be felt by a team of the British level. For Ukraine, the situation remained virtually unchanged - the Blue and Yellows were once again tuning in to an opponent who is far superior in class and has almost two equivalent squads.
"Our rotation players are still inferior to the main ones.That is why a lot will depend on how the leading Ukrainian players recover after the gruelling match in Wroclaw. By the way, it is precisely because of the inequality of the squad that our national team is worse in the second of the doubleheaders. This is evidenced by statistics.
We can only hope that Rebrov will find the necessary arguments and that the ice will be broken in Milan in this aspect. Although, as for me, in terms of tactics, our team will not change much in Milan compared to the match with the British in Wroclaw.I am convinced that a draw with Italy will be a great result for us," said Oleh Fedorchuk, a well-known former football player and coach, and now a football expert, in a commentary to Sport.ua (11.09.23 ).
Journalists also predicted that Italy would play mostly with the ball at the San Siro, and that the match would visually resemble a fight with England, which had an advantage of more than 65% of possession. The depth of the opponents' squad also raised some concerns in the press, despite some of their personnel problems.
"Spalletti can change the line-up by more than half compared to the previous match. Frattesi, Locatelli, Zagnolo can come on from the first minute. This is where Italy has an advantage. It seems to me that those players who did not play from the first minutes against Northern Macedonia can surprise us first of all. Fratesi, whom Inter took from Sassuolo this summer. He passes the ball well, opens up well behind the backs, has good speed. If he starts playing in Zagnolo, it will be difficult to stop him," Setanta Sports commentator Oleksandr Mykhailiuk suggested in a conversation with Ukrainian Football the day before (12.09.23).
Optimism and concern
The journalist was looking into the water. It was the Inter Milan midfielder who became one of the heroes of the match at his club's home stadium. Fratesi scored a double in the opening half-hour of the game, deciding its fate in favour of the hosts. Andriy Yarmolenko's goal - the 46th for the Ukrainian national team - did not save our team from defeat away to the reigning European champion and direct competitor for Euro 2024.
"Amiracle did not happen, and we had to limit ourselves to the minimum programme - one point out of six possible in a duel with the powers that be.Oddly enough, we still have a chance of leaving the group. To do this, it will most likely be necessary to win all three matches. Provided that Italy doesn't win everything before they meet us.
But let's be honest with ourselves: is it possible for us to overcome such an opponent? Theoretically, yes, but it's hard to believe. And so - the progress of the national team with Rebrov is obvious. And the very fact of the national team's progress, against the backdrop of football, which is steadily regressing in the country, cannot but rejoice. Under the new coach, Ukraine has scored against all its group rivals. It has never looked frankly hopeless. And I want to watch their matches further. Not to do your duty just because it's your country's team, but to follow their game. This is the most important thing in football," Ihor Yurych of Ua-football.com analyses the result of the national team's September matches (13.09.23).
The media are almost unanimous in their opinion: "The Blue and Yellows, led by Serhii Rebrov, are playing good football. There is a will, a holistic pattern of actions. The national team played two tough matches against the world's giants, but showed a pretty decent game and can safely add these matches to their assets.
"Yes, the national team still has a lot of mistakes and there is still work to be done, but this team has character. This pairing with England and Italy showed that we are capable of playing with top teams, but not yet on an industrial scale. 1 point against these rivals is a good result. It could have been much worse, it could have been better. It's a pity Konoplya didn't make the most of his chance at the end of the match. But the most important thing is that the team did everything they could. And if you were expecting some kind of miracle from Ukraine at the San Siro, then don't be. Miracles don't happen that often in this world, and we're not in a film. So everything is fine - we keep working. In the next matches, it will be better," Iryna Kozyupa of Ua.tribuna.com (13.09.23) is sure.
"We played against very difficult opponents. But the match with England showed that we can play with opponents of this level. Football is not about possession of the ball, it's about chances and scoring. In any case, these two matches were very useful for us in terms of the future. We will prepare carefully for the next matches," the Ukrainian manager said on Suspilne TV (13.09.23).
Rebrov emphasises that his team was only one goal short of the goal. And the point is not only that the Italians did not allow it. Serhii Stanislavovych assures us that the national team players tried to put more pressure on the opposition, but it was very difficult for them, as they gave a lot of effort in the game against England just two days ago.
Ultimately, the Ukraine coach is convinced that the team still has a chance of successfully qualifying. "We will prepare for the next two games very seriously," he assures. Such faith in the head coach's team is a very important quality that gives optimism to the fans and everyone within the team.
On the other hand, the press is concerned about the Blue and Yellows' personnel potential. The media are grateful for the players' dedication, but understand that it is no substitute for skill, which is an order of magnitude higher than that of English and Italian players.
"Inmy opinion, the recent results of the national team of Ukraine, as well as its current place in the group qualifying tournament for Euro 2024, far exceed the current state of affairs in our football. Due to his coaching skills, Serhii Rebrov's staff has extracted even more from our football than it currently has - both in terms of organisational and purely performing. The results of the European Cup qualifiers speak for themselves...
Yes, at the tournament distance we are not even close to being able to compete with the England national team, although we won a strategically important draw in a head-to-head match with them. But with the Italian national team, even despite Tuesday's loss, it seems that we can still compete. However, since in our case every qualified player in the national team is irreplaceable, its further results will directly depend on the real state of literally each of them at the time of the qualifying matches in October and November," analyses the well-known journalist Igor Linnik on his Facebook page (Dynamo.kiev.ua, 13.09.23).
"There is onlyone recipe here, and it's not original - the more players of the national team have a stable playing practice at a serious level, a constant high intensity of team play and counteracting the high-speed game of opponents in serious tournaments, the fewer "fakes" there will be in the overall game of sucha team.Is it trite? Of course it is. But it's the onlyway," agrees Pavel Bulakh, editor-in-chief of Footboom1.com (13.09.23 ).
So, the national team of Ukraine will play its next qualifying matches for Euro 2024 next month, and there Rebrov's team will again face two incredibly important games against Northern Macedonia (14 October) and Malta (17 October), in which we have no right to make a mistake.
After these games, it will be finally clear whether the Blue and Yellows will be able to compete for the European Championship in the final match against Italy, scheduled for November. In the meantime, the situation is still in our hands, and this is perhaps the main positive outcome of this international pause.
"Youth team: the equation for the seniors
The newly-convoked youth national team of Ukraine, led by Spanish specialist Unai Melgosa, also added to the positive momentum this week. Despite a successful performance at Euro 2023, only nine players from the Olympic squad remain in the squad. The coach has also changed - Ruslan Rotan was replaced by Serhiy Rebrov's assistant, with whom he had worked for a long time at club and national levels.
The media recall that this was one of the conditions set by the head coach of the main team when signing a contract with the UAF. The Spaniard will work closely with his boss and build a "youth" team based on the same concept as the first national team. The idea is interesting, but how it will work in practice will only become known in the near future.
"Thepurpose of this personnel policyis clear.Melgosa is well aware of Serhiy Stanislavovych's views and requirements regarding the team's ideas and football game. This will help to train young Ukrainian players in accordance with the requirements and requests of the head of the country's main team. But there is one caveat. It is unlikely that the Spanish specialist can currently boast of a perfect knowledge of Ukrainian football, let alone youth football.Themain question for today is how quickly and effectively Melgosa will be able to understand and master this still new field of activity for him," Bohdan Bilyi assessed the know-how on the website Bolel-ik.com.ua (13.09.23).
This is what the friendly match between the youth national team of Ukraine and their peers from Germany was dedicated to on the eve of the start of the qualifiers for Euro 2025. Our youngsters lost (0: 2), but for the coaching staff it was nothing more than a test of strength and capabilities. The acquaintance was extensive - Melgosa gave 22 players a chance to play during the match. It remained to properly apply the potential seen in the official match against Northern Ireland.
"Thequalifying sextet under the letter 'F', which included Ukraine, also included England, Luxembourg, Northern Ireland, Azerbaijan and Serbia. And what was the level of our surprise when, in the first round, a small representative of the United Kingdom sensationally lost to the team from the last basket during the draw (0: 1). And it was against Tommy Wright's team that we had to start our performances.
The opponents are well-known masters of deep defence, but there was some hope that the too-young current Northern Irish team would want to prove themselves primarily in attacking actions. But their head coach was clearly against this, so from the very first minutes we saw three links of an extremely powerful side in front of us and immediately got bogged down in attempts to advance to the other side's goal," reports Oleksandr Snitko from Sport.ua (12.09.23).
Nevertheless, Melgosa's coaching staff coped with the first score. Moreover, the British barrier was overcome thanks to the decisions of the coaches. They reacted to the tight game quite calmly, without hasty adjustments. And the substitutions were made at the right time and brought results. It was the two "jokers" - Ilya Kvasnytsia and Ihor Krasnopir - who took part in the goal attack, which was completed by Vitaliy Roman.
"1-0 is a very difficult but important start for the Ukrainian national team. Northern Ireland lost for the second time in this qualifier, while the Ukrainian national team gained crucial 3 points for further struggle in a difficult group," says the correspondent of Ua-football.com (12.09.23 ) Lyubomyr Sirskyi.
The next matches of the Blue and Yellows in the Euro 2025 qualifiers will take place in a month - on 12 October away against Luxembourg and on 16 October at home against England, which will take place in Kosice, Slovakia, due to the war.
Maksymov at Dnipro-1
At the club level, the top event of the past week was the appointment of Yuriy Maksymov as head coach of Dnipro, whose last job was with Second League side Zvyagel. The talks around this "transfer" had been going on for a long time, and it was confirmed by the specialist himself, but the official introduction of the new coach took place only on Thursday, 14 September.
The employment contract with the coach and his coaching staff, which included assistants Serhii Revut and Mykola Ishchenko, as well as goalkeeping coach Mykola Medin, was signed for two years. Dnipro-1 do not hide the fact that they are counting on some success with this appointment.
"My task is to coach. To form a new team. To give the necessary result - to make it to the European Cups at the end of the championship. This task was given to me before signing the contract," Maksymov told Sport-express.ua (15.09.23).
However, the first pancake for the 54-year-old Ukrainian specialist turned out to be lumpy - in the 7th round of the UPL, Dnipro failed to break the resistance of Kolos (1:1) and currently occupy the 12th place in the standings. Shakhtar is leading the way, having played for almost an hour with a numerical majority, and at the end of the match they pressed Obolon (1-0). And Dynamo finished their match against Vorskla on Monday, 18 September, with a confident 2-0 victory.
Orest LELEKA
