Igor Yavorsky: "The Ukrainian national team was lucky"

Former Niva and Lviv coach Ihor Yavorskyi commented on thematch betweenUkraine and Malta in the Euro 2024 qualifiers toTeam1 .

Igor Yavorsky

- There were two different halves. The Ukrainians failed to start, did not catch the rhythm of the game, acted in a manner that gave the impression that they were convinced that the victory would not go away...

- At the post-match press conference, the visitors' manager Serhii Rebrov stressed that his team was under pressure to get three points...

- I agree that the Ukrainians had no right to lose points in Malta, but we had to demonstrate our determination to win from the first minutes, and not waste time on warm-ups. It's good that the opponent was not the most intrusive...

- As Rebrov announced after the match with Northern Macedonia, there were several changes in the starting line-up on Tuesday...

- Karavayev played reliably. It was felt that Vanat was playing out of position and therefore rarely took the initiative. Unfortunately, Sydorchuk remained faithful to himself, all his passes were backwards, without aggravation. It was he who slowed down the development of the visitors' attacks. Serhiy is also to blame for the missed goal, when he and the stopper allowed the home team's player to break through the centre. Trubin did not help in this episode either.

But with substitutions during the match, Rebrov guessed right: Svatok was more reliable than Matvienko, who often made positional mistakes, and Konoplya significantly revived the game on the right flank.

- What helped the guests to break through?

- First of all, luck. After the goal, the hosts immediately slowed down, apparently no longer believing that everything would end well for them. In general, in the second half, the Ukrainians attacked much better, using two flanks, combined faster, and it became more difficult for the Maltese to cover vulnerable areas. So our team deserved to win.

- What can you say about Dovbyk, who finally broke the goalless streak by converting a penalty, and Mudryk, who scored his debut goal for the national team?

- You can't deny Artem his diligence, he worked hard for the national team. But the striker's mission is to score goals, and Dovbyk has problems with this even against such a mediocre opponent as Malta. After all, where are the goals going to come from when Artem hardly ever takes a shot on goal?

As for Mudryk, it seems that the criticism against him for not working back when he loses the ball has done him some good. Mikhail did not spare himself, often engaged in martial arts in his own half of the field, and was active near the Maltese goal. In my opinion, he was the best player of the match.

- If there are no sensations, the fate of a direct ticket to Euro 2024 will be determined in the final round in the battle between Ukraine and Italy, and only a victory will suit our team...

- It will be very difficult with the Italians in November. There is no doubt that they will act as the second number, and recent matches have shown that it is difficult for Serhii Rebrov's wards to find gaps in a saturated defence. However, there is still time to weigh everything up and prepare properly. After all, it is not for nothing that they say that hope dies last.

Vasily Mikhailov