Oleksiy Belik: "We did not beat Italy or England, but only North Macedonia"

Former Shakhtar Donetsk and Ukraine national team striker Oleksiy Belik shared his impressions of the Euro 2024 qualifying match Ukraine vs North Macedonia (2-0), which took place yesterday in Prague.

- Were you surprised by the starting line-up of our national team?

- In principle, no. After it became known that Viktor Tsygankov and Andriy Yarmolenko were injured, everything became clear. I believe that Serhiy Rebrov has put out the optimal lineup for this day.

- In early summer, the national teams of Ukraine and Northern Macedonia played in Skopje, and then our team had an unsuccessful first half, losing 0:2 by halftime. Now the Ukrainians looked more confident with the starting whistle of Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic. Do you agree?

- Yes. From the first minutes of the match we could see the right attitude of our players - they wanted to win. The guests played tightly in defence of their own goal. Players of the offensive line of the Ukrainian national team - Sudakov, Zubkov, Mudryk and Dovbik actively acted at the gates of the guests.

It was evident that our players outplayed the opponent, creating chances at Dimitrievski's goal. North Macedonia players played mostly in the lower block, but it did not help them much. The goal was coming. Georgi Sudakov became the co-author of this goal. I can confidently say - the Ukraine national team deserved this goal.

- But what happened next was something that few people could have predicted. The guests became noticeably active and began to create dangerous moments at Anatoliy Trubin's goal. What do you attribute it to?

- The turning point in the game happened in the 35th minute. The guests turned the course of the match with the efforts of Alioski and Elmas. Our guys allowed the opponent too much in front of our penalty area. They did not play tightly with the opponent, did not cover the opponents. The guests were more active with the ball, and we, in a static position, were often, as they say, played back. Only the skill of Trubin and Matvienko saved us from conceding a goal before the break.

- After the break, the course of the meeting did not change much - the visitors' players also rushed into the attack....

- It is clear that for the players of the North Macedonian national team this was, in many ways, the key game in the group. Defeat deprived them of almost all chances to reach the final part of the European Championship. The guests took risks, attacked with great effort. We acted more on the counterattack and had good opportunities to score the second goal. Here we can remember the strikes of Mudryk, Matvienko, Sudakov and Dovbik, although Artem was offside, as the replay showed.

Ukrainian fans always want the match to go our way, but it often does not happen. The opponent was very motivated. I would like to mention the substitutions made by Serhiy Rebrov. Sidorchuk strengthened the centre of the pitch, and Yaremchuk tried to play competently in attack.

- Surely Anatoliy Trubin made the save of the match in the opening of the second half?

- Yes, the episode in the 53rd minute was quite dynamic. Churlinov went one-on-one with our goalkeeper, and only Anatoliy's skill allowed him to convert the ball to a corner.

- Did you like the match in Prague?

- Me, yes. In general - the fans saw an interesting match. The only thing is that we would all like our guys to score the second goal, which would calm everyone down.

- A question for you, as a forward, in the past. Why our forwards - Artem Dovbik and Roman Yaremchuk - have never scored in the current qualifying cycle?

- I understand that forwards are always expected to score goals. Even if not in every game, but at least in every match, they should score goals. I can say that our attacking players bring tangible benefits. The same Dovbik often held the ball, took the initiative, made passes to his partners. I think that the coaching staff of our national team is satisfied with Artem's game.

As for Roman Yaremchuk, everyone knows that he is a high-level footballer. In recent years, he has often changed teams - Benfica, Brugge, now Valencia. These teams play in different championships and Roman needs time to adapt in new clubs. All this affects his game in the Ukraine national team. I can tell you from my experience - it is not easy to come on as a substitute in a game of such intensity. Yaremchuk still has to find a balance in the game and start scoring in the Ukraine national team.

- What is your opinion about the game of Georgiy Sudakov and do you agree with the opinion of experts that now the young playmaker is one of the leaders of the Ukraine national team?

- Undoubtedly, there are more experienced players in the Ukrainian national team, who have played in Europe, but the 21-year-old midfielder is already one of the leaders of our national team. We will not look at the age. In terms of contribution to the team game, in the game between the lines Sudakov is one of our strongest players. With his technical skill, unexpected turns - he is a future leader. The Shakhtar Donetsk Academy pupil has grown a lot over the past year.

- A month ago, in the matches against England and Italy, Georgiy Buschan played at the goal of our national team. What, in your opinion, is the reason for the appearance of Anatoliy Trubin in the main squad?

- The whole thing is that Trubin got used to the Portuguese "Benfica" and began to play there permanently. And what a match he played against Inter in the Champions League! We all know how psychologically stable Anatoliy is. Experts among goalkeepers will understand his game better than me, but Trubin deserves a place in the starting lineup now. The match in Prague can also be credited to him - he played for zero. Trubin's play allowed us to beat North Macedonia.

- In two days our national team will face Malta. Historically, we do not play very well the second matches in such a tight schedule. Will our players be able to switch to the outsider of Group C?

- Let's not look at the fact that the national team of Malta has not yet scored a single point in our group. The match will be away. We need to take the game in Malta very seriously. We didn't beat Italy or England in Prague, but only North Macedonia. We did not jump over our heads, but did what was expected of our national team.

I am sure that our guys have not spilled all their emotions. On 17 October in Malta we need to go out and win. After all, as everyone expects, the culmination of our struggle for a ticket to the European Championship will take place in Leverkusen, Germany. It is there, on the 20th of November, where everything will be decided for us, in a duel with Italy.