Ukraine's U-19 national team has finished playing in a friendly tournament in Seoul. Oleg Kuznetsov's wards finished in second place. The Ukrainians lost to the hosts Koreans 2:4, defeated Vietnam 3:2 and Morocco 4:2.
We were a little unlucky in the match against Korea. The hosts hit almost everything they could, and the Ukrainians failed to convert their chances. Alexey Gusev missed two super chances.
But the result is not important. It was preparation for the U-19 Euro qualifiers, which will begin in November. Oleg Kuznetsov's coaching staff involved some players a year younger - born in 2006 - in the national team. This experiment has paid off one hundred per cent.
Matvey Ponomarenko, a forward for the Dynamo youth team, became one of the best players not only for the Ukrainian national team but also for the entire tournament. In the first match, the Koreans had a hard time stopping the Dynamo striker. Ponomarenko used his own skill to set up Maksym Vasylets' goal (he had to avoid missing the goal from close range). In the match against Vietnam, he rested (the games are in two days). And in the game against Morocco he made a double. Moreover, during the match, the Ukrainians were 0-2 down. Ponomarenko scored at the very beginning of the second half with the score tied and at the end of the game he actually removed the question of the winner (the score was 4-2).
Now Dynamo is facing the issue of a second forward. After Andriy Yarmolenko's injury and Oleksandr Karavayev's possible suspension for his sending off in Zhytomyr, Benito has every chance of returning to the right flank of midfield. Vladyslav Vanat needs a rotation. At least for the last 15-20 minutes of the game. Under certain circumstances - to strengthen the team's play. The second striker is very relevant.
The youth national team of Ukraine has big problems with the forward. There is no choice of players at all. Unai Melgosa has been in this position for Bohdan Viunnyk, but he is more of a depth player or winger, not a cutting edge attacker. That leaves only Obolon's Oleksandr Krasnopir. I'm more than sure that Ponomarenko would be a good fit for the youth team right now.
Ponomarenko will turn 18 at the beginning of the year. This is already the age at which you can and even sometimes should play adult football. In Korea, we were opposed by the U-20 teams (the Ukrainians were a year younger). Against the background of rivals who are 2-3 years older, Ponomarenko not only did not get lost, but was able to show his best qualities. In the U-19 championship, he is confidently leading the scoring with 10 goals in 10 matches.
I understand that he may not yet be fully up to par with all aspects of adult football. But the first team is an incentive to progress faster and gain experience. This will allow him to really play in the senior team in the short term. I really hope that Lucescu will sign the talented striker to the first team step by step after the break for the national team matches in October.
Serhii Tyshchenko