Former Dynamo and Ukraine forward Viktor Leonenko shared his thoughts on the draw between Ukraine and Italy (0-0) in the Euro 2024 qualifiers.
Viktor Leonenko- Yevhenovych, what is your opinion on the game of the Ukrainian national team against Italy?
- I was rooting for our team and Rebrov, but I'll be honest. With such a game, we have nothing to do at the European Championships. Everyone here is talking only about the unassigned penalty, and for some reason they are silent about the chances. We had only Sudakov's shot, and five goals could have gone in.
- The fans recognised Mykolenko as the Lion of the Match. Who will you give the award to?
- What Mykolenko? "Trubin was clearly the Lion of the Match - he saved after Fratesi went one-on-one and made a great save. According to my calculations, Italy should have won 5-1. We had only one chance in 90 minutes, so we were told that we were not expected to play in the Euros, Italy looked more interesting.
- In the second half, the Ukrainian national team played well.
- You don't need to analyse the second half at all, because Italy remembered that they were happy with a draw. In the second half, it was a completely equal and draw game.
- Was there a penalty on Mudryk?
- I'm not going to say whether there was a penalty or not, I'll just explain why the referee didn't give it. The first point: Cheferin made it clear in his interview that we are not expected at the Euros. Second point: in extra time, the referee rarely gives a penalty. Third point: Misha, stop falling so picturesquely!
- Do you think we will make it to the Euros through the play-offs?
- We have to go there through the play-offs, because the Ukrainian national team looks more interesting than the rest of the teams. Although, in fact, everyone there is the same.
Andrii Piskun
