Leonid Buryak: "Italy could not fail to go to the Euros, and Ukraine will be the favourite in the play-offs"

Former head coach of the Ukrainian national team Leonid Buryak assessed the game of the Ukrainian national team in the Euro 2024 qualifying match with Italy (0:0), which took place yesterday in Leverkusen.

- We must thank both teams for such football, for a game that kept us in suspense for the whole 90 minutes and which, thanks to the intrigue, flew by very quickly, - said Buryak. - It was a real final. We saw two different halves. Before the break the Italian team had the advantage, but could not score, and in the second half the Ukrainian team played differently, when the opponent was physically fit, and closer to the final whistle frankly just wanted to keep the score he needed.

- Did our team do the maximum to win?

- If it had been a truly home match - in Ukraine, the result would have been better for the Ukrainian national team, and the pressure on Italy would have been more significant, which would have been very difficult for the Italians to withstand.... As for the match in Leverkusen, I have no complaints to anyone in terms of commitment, but in terms of the content of the game, there are questions to some players of our team. I do not want to name names, but not all of Sergei Rebrov's charges played evenly, especially in terms of creating chances and supporting the attack.

- After the break, the opponent seemed to have broken the rules against Mudryk in his penalty area - was there a penalty?

- The referees decided not to watch VAR, so they had no doubt that there was no foul. In general, I think that the referee judged normally. Yes, in the episode with Mudryk's fall, perhaps, the Italian factor worked - in such a case they could have put a "point" in the goal of a less famous team.... But this is Italy, and how could it be allowed that Italians did not go to the Euros...

- What did we fail to do in the first half?

- It was a bit chaotic. As I understand, the Ukrainian team players had a task not to stay behind the ball and saturate their half of the field as much as possible. But the Italians still created chances, and in some episodes we were lucky, especially when the opponent shot from outside the goalkeeper's box.

- Chiesa is probably the best in this Italian team?

- I liked this Italian team in general. Not only Chiesa played great, but also Barella, Jorginho and Donnarumma. Their only problem was that after the break they lost momentum due to fatigue. That's why their coach made substitutions to strengthen the midfield.

- How high was the chance for the Ukrainians to break through the Italian defence in the second half?

- I have already said that after the break the Blue-Yellows played better, but the actions of our team in attack disappointed me. Dovbik had a hard time up front without proper support and targeted passes. Unfortunately, there were few "standards" for the Ukraine national team, from which we could squeeze something out. In addition, Malinovskyi came on the pitch a little late.

- And how can you evaluate Rebrov's other substitutions?

- Hemp was taken off because Chiesa wore him down. However, this substitution could have been made a little earlier. Pihalionk and Zubkov's appearance was appropriate and, I think, Malinovskyi could have been released together with them. In general, I note that the national team of Ukraine by its potential can successfully play with any opponent, we are more capable. We just need to accept this result. But for Italy, a loss in Leverkusen would be a disaster.

- What do you think about the effectiveness of Mudryk, who was very active again, but his raids did not end in anything?

- Mudryk has speed, and as he gets older, hopefully he'll gain a football mind as well. In general, it is good that our national team has such a running player, because it always stresses the opponent.

- What can the Ukraine national team expect in the play-offs for Euro-2024?

- As far as I remember, we may face such teams as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel.... I note that all the national teams can play nowadays. Just remember the quality of Georgia's away performance against Spain. Of course, Bosnians and Israelis are not Italians, but it will not be possible to play against them from a position of strength.

After such football, as in the match with Italy, the Ukrainian national team will be considered the favourite in the play-offs. Despite the fact that we did not get a direct ticket to the Euros, we finished the selection in a positive way, and we need to keep it for the spring. The main thing is not to repeat the mistakes of the previous elimination matches, when we were knocked out by Slovenia.

Oleg Semenchenko