Former head coach of Dynamo Kyiv Oleksandr Hatskevych shared his expectations for the Ukraine national team's match against Northern Macedonia in the Euro 2024 qualifiers to be held in Prague today.
Alexander Hatskevich- On Saturday, the national team of Ukraine will play against the team of Northern Macedonia. What can you say about the Blue and Yellows' nearest rival? What are their strengths and weaknesses?
- We can say that the team is already quite experienced, although it is recovering from the 2020 European Championship. The players play in good championships, it's not to say that they play leading roles there, but still their team is quite strong.
- How much has the Macedonian game changed compared to the match at Euro 2020 (2:1)? Does the team's coaching staff continue to play in the same style?
- I didn't follow North Macedonia very closely, they are not a trendsetter in football, so I can't say whether they have changed much since Euro 2020. Of course, there used to be Pandev, a name in European football.
I can only say that this team now has as many points as Ukraine, so this is a very important game for both teams and a victory for either team will help them qualify for the European Championship.
- The Ukrainian national team has personnel problems. Andrii Lunin, Viktor Tsygankov, Andrii Yarmolenko are excluded from the squad due to injuries, and Denys Popov is questionable. Do you think this will be a problem for the Blue and Yellows coaching staff and who can replace the team leaders?
- It is clear that Andrii Yarmolenko has a lot of experience, both in football and in life. In the locker room, he is one of the leaders plus the captain of the national team. Viktor Tsygankov is in the prime of his football career, moreover, he already has very good international experience.
Of course, these are big losses and quite serious. At the moment, this is a major headache for Serhii Rebrov. Who will replace these players? We can only guess. Some say that the choice is small, but it is always there anyway. As of today, the Konoplya-Zubkov pairing that plays at Shakhtar, their interaction and understanding in this area will be better than if someone else plays.
I repeat once again, this is a big loss for Ukraine, especially as the Macedonians are likely to play more without the ball, and Yarmolenko and Tsygankov are players who can play one-on-one, pass the ball, and complete the attack.
The players that Rebrov currently has at his disposal do not have the qualities that Yarmolenko and Tsygankov have.
- There are three rounds left to play in the Euro 2024 qualifiers. England is unlikely to give up the first place, but there will be a fight for the second position. Who do you think is the main contender for the second ticket to the European Championships in Germany?
- We saw the Italy-Ukraine game. The score was 2-1 in favour of the Italians, but to be honest, especially in the first twenty minutes, the Ukrainians were not visible at all. Therefore, judging by the game and the selection of players, Italy looks like the favourite of the three teams...
But, again, this is based on the game in Milan, and that was a month ago, and what will happen in a month in the return match, especially since we still need to see how Ukraine will play against North Macedonia and Malta.
We still need to beat these two teams, and even more so when there are two games in a row, the second match is usually always difficult. But today, Italy is the favourite in the fight for second place.
- Your prediction for the Ukraine vs North Macedonia match.
- Despite all the personnel problems of the Ukrainian national team, I believe in a 3-0 victory for the Blue and Yellows.
Pavlo Klymenko
