All last week the domestic football community lived in anticipation of the upcoming battle between the national team of Ukraine and the team of Italy in the fight for a direct ticket to Euro 2024, and profile, and not only, the media at all times assessed the prospects of each side, advantages and disadvantages and predicted the chances of success in the confrontation.
Alas, Sergey Rebrov's men failed to achieve the desired result late on Monday night in Leverkusen, Germany, which has become the Ukrainians' home ground. A 0-0 draw on extra time sent Scuadra Azzurra to the final tournament in Germany. But does anyone dare to throw a stone in the garden of the blue-and-yellow, who until the last seconds of the match passionately fought with the reigning champions of the continent, one of the most titled teams of world football?
Moreover, at the very beginning of the qualifying path of the current qualification, when the rivals of the national team of Ukraine were reputable England and Italy, many, even optimistic experts and journalists, very modestly assessed the chances of our team to actually participate in the competition for one of the first two places.
However, Sergei Rebrov, who took over the team in the course of the tournament, in a short period of time managed to disprove pessimistic forecasts and create a team that until the last round fought on equal terms with the Scuadra Adzurra, showing consistently decent results, bold, with an emphasis on attacking play and delighting their fans.
So it is not the time to sprinkle ashes on our head: our national team has a backup option in the form of participation in the Nations League play-offs, the matches of which will be held in March next year. The opponents there are no equal to the English and Italians, but we should not expect them to be relaxed. However, Rebrov's good-looking team has already proved its worthiness many times, and the fans will certainly have new bright impressions ahead.
The match Ukraine vs Italy long before its start was in the crosshairs of the media, and not only domestic. The reason for this was a careless statement of UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, allegedly thrown on the sidelines of the Frankfurt Book Fair and picked up by Italian journalists.
"Italy must qualify for Euro 2024. Otherwise it will be a disaster. The Italian national team is too important. I think Italy will beat Ukraine," - Cheferin was quoted by Xsport.ua (17.11.23) and other internet resources. And immediately, even taking into account the fact that the words of the head of European football could have been taken out of context or even misinterpreted, the conspiracy theory began to run rampant.
The theory went so far that even at the pre-match press conference in Leverkusen Serhiy Rebrov was asked about it.
"I think that we should concentrate on our game, - the head coach of the Ukrainian national team tactfully replied. - All the guys should be ready for the upcoming match mentally, forget about all the statements in the press. I am sure that none of these statements will affect our players. Everyone understands that we can get the result only ourselves, only with our own efforts" (Dynamo.kiev.ua, 19.11.23).
Another component of this theory was a home-grown claim that UEFA is forcing the Ukrainian national team to play a friendly match with Laos on 17 November - to be in equal competitive conditions with Italy. Once again, the news turned out to be nothing. In the end they met with Polish "Lechia" from Gdansk, and even that a day earlier.
"This sparring was planned from the beginning, - explained Rebrov. - It turned out to be a useful game. It is important that none of the guys were injured, and everyone is preparing for the match with Italy.
The Blue-Yellows won against Lechia (2-0) and after almost a week of training camp in Gdansk moved to the south-west of Germany. Scuadra Adzurra, meanwhile, took care of North Macedonia (5:2) at home on Friday, although there was a moment in the match when the Macedonians, having conceded three goals, scored two and then won back and somewhat escalated the intrigue.
"We analysed Italy's match with North Macedonia, got a lot of information and provided it to the players, - shared his impressions Sergei Rebrov. - I am sure that in Leverkusen there will be a different game compared to what we had in our first match with Italy. On the road, in my opinion, we made a lot of mistakes. So tomorrow we have to be more concentrated and responsible.
We need only victory. We are considering several tactical schemes for the game. Italy have a lot of quality players who play both attacking and defence. This is a very intense team, and it is unlikely that they will play for a draw. And the fact that it played an official match two days ago doesn't matter. We must be ready for a very intense game" (Dynamo.kiev.ua, 19.11.23).
"We always play for our people, who now need support. In this year and a half of war Ukrainians lack the positive emotions that sports and football in particular can give. Many people will support us tomorrow and we will feel it. We play for them, for our army, for those who defend our freedom", - added the head coach.
The columnist of Xsport.ua Mykhailo Tsyruk meanwhile drew attention to the fact that the leading Ukrainian legionnaires have recently gained a good playing form. Tsygankov returned to the line-up after injury. Trubin has established himself as the main goalkeeper of Benfica. Zabarny became simply irreplaceable for Bournemouth. Mikolenko is having the best period of his career at Everton. Zinchenko gave a perfect match for Arsenal. And Dovbik keeps among the top scorers of the Spanish La Liga.
"At the same time, Sudakov gave out an incredible month. And in general, the game of key players of our team at this stage gives positive thoughts and hopes for success even on the eve of the meeting with the European champions", - summarised Tsyruk (14.11.23).
On the other hand, journalist Valeriy Vasilenko said that the Italian national team is undergoing a generational change and only remotely resembles the Scuadra Adzurra, which triumphed at Euro 2020.
"And the right is not so much in the departure of the main creator of that success, Roberto Mancini, or in the trauma that fell on Luciano Spalletti's head. Everything is much simpler - the inability to fulfil the generational change. With the level of play and home runs, the Italians can't be called a grandee now, even with a stretch. That's why we would like to see the Ukraine national team take advantage of this moment - a re-match with the opponent" (Sport.ua, 20.11.23).
In general, everyone has their own opinion. But the fact remains: it is Scuadra Adzurra that is the most uncomfortable opponent in the history of our national team. The Blue-Yellows have never beaten the Italians in nine face-to-face meetings, and the total goal difference against them is 4-17.
Italian national team manager Luciano Spalletti missed a number of important players before the final two matches of Euro-2024 qualification due to injuries - Locatelli, Mereta, Toloy, Calabria, Bastoni was in doubt, Tonoli was disqualified for a long period of time.
Perhaps for this reason, or maybe for other reasons, he did not look too convincing at the pre-match press conference: "We started this qualifying cycle with difficulties, but we came out of the situation with honour and with the same indicators as Ukraine approached the decisive match - the points in the standings of the group confirm it. So there is no favourite in tomorrow's match. Of course, we can lose. This meeting will show what kind of dough we are made of.
Of course, Serhiy Rebrov has prepared for the match very well. I think he will profess more attacking football. Judging by recent matches, he is a coach who likes to play open. Ukrainians will probably try to storm our goal, but we will decide when to play high and when to play low. And when to give the game first. We need to repeat what we showed in the match against North Macedonia" (Dynamo.kiev.ua, 19.11.23).
At the same time, the famous Arrigo Sacchi, one of Spalletti's predecessors as head of the Scuadra Adzurra, expressed the opinion that his countrymen will not be able to win a simple victory over the Ukrainians. And urged the players in no way to underestimate Serhiy Rebrov's team and not to think that they can be satisfied with a draw.
"Firstly, the Ukrainian team did not participate in an official match on 17 November, so they had more rest than us and spent less energy. Secondly, tension is an additional enemy. We should try to make Spalletti's guys do not feel pressure.
If they think to play for a draw, this is exactly what can lead to defeat. The team should follow the credo of a coach who likes to attack the opponent. Let them do it against Ukraine, and not sit and calculate the odds like in the accounting department", - said Sacchi (Fanday.net, 18.11.23).
But TV commentator Igor Tsyganik expressed the exact opposite opinion: "The Italians will play very cautiously. I don't believe that they say in the media that they dream only of victory, that they won't close, that they won't think about a draw, which will suit them fine. They know how to achieve a positive result for themselves, especially if they take control of the ball. Therefore, our team need to press the opponent as much as possible, to impose the fight. And in chess football we are unlikely to do anything" (Dynamo.kiev.ua, 19.11.23).
However, Tsyganik did not tilt the situation, as he put it. Because even in case of failure our team still had a chance to get to Germany through the play-offs in the Nations League, where the level of competition is much lower. And even having used the first attempt, there was still the second.
And one of the leaders of our team Oleksandr Zinchenko reminded: "Tse will be a great game, the match of our life. Especially considering the difficult times our country is going through. It is important for us to bring positive news to the Ukrainians. To play in the final tournament of Euro Euro is a great achievement. To wear the national team shirt is a dream and a great honour for everyone. The greatest honour!" (Vesti.ua, 18.11.23).
The legendary Andriy Shevchenko also expressed his opinion, excerpts from his interview with Italian La Gazzetta dello Sport quoted by Footboom1.com: "This is a very important match for us. Much more important than just a match. Despite the war, the need to play away and other related difficulties, the team remains on the move.
Of course, there has been a change of generations, we have such good players as Mudryk, Sudakov, Tsygankov. Rebrov perfectly coped with a difficult situation, brought his philosophy, and the team was revived. At the moment we have nothing to lose, but we do not want to stop there" (20.11.23).
At the same time, Shevchenko paid tribute to Scuadra Adzurra. According to him, Luciano Spalleti and his charges motivation is also off the scale, because this qualified coach certainly wants to get Italy back on top after the disappointment of failing to qualify for the World Cup. In addition, the Italian national team is strong mentally and has quality players.
Such were the moods and attitudes on the eve of the match. But everything was decided by the game itself...
Those who expected the Italians to play actively were right. In fact, both opponents rushed into the battle, in fact, without intelligence, having created an acute moment each in the opening stages of the game. And the Apennines had a much sharper chance to score. Moreover, they gradually took the initiative into their own hands, and it was really hot at the gates of our team until the half-time whistle. However, it not only fought back, but also found ways for counterattacks.
"Prote Scuadra Adzurra still stung more effectively, having first of all taken the standard positions. After two kutovi Ukrainians vibed K'iez and Di Lorenzo. Then Trubin won a close-range fight with Fratteza, and Raspadori lacked a few centimetres to close down the pass of the ineffective K'eza", - described the peripeteia on the field before the break footclub.com.ua (20.11.23).
In general, the zeros after the first half looked like a good foundation for Rebrov's wards to become active in the second half. And the Blue-Yellows did their best to score the long-awaited goal. Tsygankov sparkled, Mudryk had several opportunities to make his killer runs, he also hit the target for sure after a long touch performed by Konopley - Donnarumma saved the guests.
Finally, the apotheosis of this pressure on the Italian goal was the moment when Mudryk was on the turf after contact with Cristante. Penalty? Spanish referee Jesus Gil Manzano suggested the teams to continue the game, while the VAR booth ignored the controversial and ambiguous episode altogether, not even bothering to bring a video replay for the referee's consideration.
"Ukraine let both finalists of the previous continental championship ahead of them, - summarised footclub.com.ua. - Such aandsummation did not become a divine, but few people expected that our team would be forced to be really nervous Andtalia, that it would get two draws in oppositions with known favourites and that it would fight for the exit from the group to the very end. Let's take this campaign as an asset for Rebrov and his boys. . (20.11.23).
And the editor-in-chief of the portal Igor Linnik on his page in facebook noted: "I think that in the decisive match against Italy the Ukrainian national team played its best game in the qualifying cycle of Euro 2024. Two-thirds of the game time Italians played at such an intense pace, with such a powerful pressure, which not everyone, even the most solid opponent, could withstand.
But our team resisted, thus fulfilling the first part of Serhiy Rebrov's coaching plan. But Luciano Spalletti's staff failed to realise his main idea - to nip Ukraine's resistance in the bud, to score one or two goals and thus leave it no chance for a positive outcome" (21.11.23).
Linnyk regrets that the Ukrainian players failed to realise the second half of Rebrov's plan - to score a winning goal in the last quarter of the game time. It was striking how puzzled and exhausted the Italian team was in the end. And in the end it was she who "bounced back", saving a saving draw for themselves.
And as for the penalty not awarded in the penalty shootout against the Italians, the author is sure that this episode, which does not paint UEFA, will be long and loudly dealt with: "The referee in general confidently handled the game, but in the moment with a foul against Mudryk did not take a pause for a proper assessment of a more than controversial situation. And this is after the dubious revelations from the outside, which are known to everyone.
It is curious that even the Italian press, not hiding the euphoria of the Scuadra's success, was quite critical of the episode at the end of the game.
"Italy will long remember how they breathed a sigh of relief when Manzano did not dare to give them a penalty. Mudric fell in the penalty box after contact with Cristante," - La Stampa newspaper quoted Footboom1.com (21.11.23).
La Repubblica wrote: "What happened in the final minutes made the whole of Italy clutch their hearts. It seemed that Manzano would award a penalty, but he didn't even watch the video review. It was a strange decision that helped Italy to breathe easy and that Ukrainians will probably be surprised by for a long time to come.
Miroslav Stupar, a former FIFA referee and now an authoritative refereeing expert, is no less categorical: "It seems that there was no VAR at the match. The head referee was well aware of the incident, but was afraid to take responsibility and give a penalty. And if he had watched the replay, he definitely could have awarded an 11-metre penalty. But for him it would be self-destruction" (Ukrfootball.ua, 21.11.23).
Serhiy Rebrov also believes that in the episode with Mudryk there was a clean penalty. However, VAR for some reason did not make the video review public. Why - the question.
And what about the actual game noted: "We played against ranked champions of Europe, and it is very importanttoabout in a match against such a team to press from the start. That is why in the first half we concentrated on defence, and after the interval we started to act more intensively and due to this create chances near the other team's goal.
Of course, the boys are very embarrassed by the fact that they did not get the desired result. But I think they showed a good game, and I can only praise them. I would like to remind you that before the beginning of the qualifying cycle, looking at the composition of our group, not many people believed in the Ukraine national team. But, I think, we performed well and showed true Ukrainian character" (Dynamo.kiev.ua, 21.11.23).
Ukraine U21 national team beat Luxembourg (4:0) on Friday, 17 November, in Murcia, Spain, and got the fourth consecutive victory at the start of Euro 2005 qualification. Our team tops the Group F standings (12 points), three points ahead of England and six points ahead of Serbia. on 21 November the opponent of the blue-and-yellow team will be Azerbaijan. The rest of the selection matches will take place next year.
"We had different suggestions about the conduct of these two home matches. For me, good weather and a good pitch were important.And when the option with Murcia appeared, we turned it," - explained the place of choice of meetings Spanish coach of the Ukrainian "youth" Unai Melgosa (Suspilne.media, 15.11.23).
And added: "Will the support of viewers be sensitive, as it was in Slovakia? I think so. Many Ukrainians came to Spain at the beginning of the war, they live in different regions, especially in Murcia. I think people will want to come to support us. But I always say that we must give more to the fans than they give to us.
As for the personnel, due to an injury Odessa Bragaru was out of action in the match against Luxembourg. But after consultations with Serhiy Rebrov the Dynamo player Vanat was transferred from the reserve of the national team.
"As for Luxembourg, they are a team with a great desire, they are well organised, have good players, especially quick in attack. We must be careful with them. In the first match, which we won 3-0, I saw only after we scored the third goal - already at a compensated time. Luxembourg plays more on the counterattack, is very aggressive, and we know about it", - Melgosa shared his impressions about the nearest opponent (Suspilne.media, 15.11.23).
As a result, the wards of the Spanish specialist defeated the opponent - 4:0. Dynamo's Vladislav Vanat and Nazar Voloshyn, as well as Arseniy Batagov from Zorya and Igor Krasnopyr from Obolon scored. Voloshin also had two assists. It should be noted that during almost the entire second half Luxembourgians played without the suspended Berberi, and it was during this period of the match that the blue-yellows scored three goals. Vladislav Vanat opened the scoring on 35 minutes.
"We can say that the Dynamo ligament worked. Before the game I was just asking Nazar when he would finally give me a goal. He scores goals, but he doesn`t give me a goal. Today Voloshin did. I hope it will continue to be like this", - the author of the first goal noted with a bit of a joke (Dynamo.kiev.ua, 18.11.23).
He also added: "I realised that I had little chance to play against Italy for the national team, so I ended up in the youth team. Today's assessment of my game? Probably, I could have done better, but I scored a goal, and this is the main thing. I want to say thank you for the support of the fans, today there were a lot of them on the stands. And also thanks to our soldiers - for the defence of the country.
As for the actual development of events in the match, the website Football24.ua noted: "Luxembourg from the first few minutes practically all the team went into their own half, not giving the Ukrainians a lot of space. Under such conditions, long passes were of great importance, and there were a lot of them. And at the 35th minute our team scored. Batagov's throw-in went through, Voloshyn left into the penalty box and passed to Vanat, who easily scored.
The scoreline did not change till the end of the half. The Ukrainians went to the break with a minimal advantage. And at the start of the second half Berberi received another yellow card for a foul against Brazok and left Luxembourg in the minors. As a result, Ukraine won the game. After a nerve-wracking first half and after getting the advantage in the first half, the Blues and Govts. (17.11.23).
"I am not completely satisfied with the match, - admitted Unai Melgosa. - We had chances both in the first half and in the second, but I liked the chances in the first half less. I asked the players to play with more emphasis on the attack, and it worked.
We needed to find places where to pass on the move, we knew that the opponents would play with a high line of defence. There were great tackles from Rubchinskiy in the first half and Vanata in the second half. I also made sure that V'yunnik and Voloshin changed flanks after the break . They played like that for a while, but then retreated to their positions. We will need such variation in the future" (Suspilne.media, 18.11.23).
Ukraine U19 national team from 15 to 21 November participated in the Euro 2024 qualifying tournament for players of their age (not older than 2005 birth year), which was held in Malta. The opponents of Oleg Kuznetsov's charges were the host team, as well as Kosovo and Slovakia.
The two strongest teams from each group received passes to the elite round. Plus an additional pass for the third place team with the best performance.
Kuznetsov invited 21 players to take part in the tournament: 15 represented seven domestic clubs, six more were foreigners. As for the newcomers, he said: "While at the recent training camp in Pivdennyi Korea was requested a lot of new players, now the emphasis is on the fact that the footballers were with game practice.
We have been watching Timur Tuterov for a long time, when he was still playing for "Kolos". Now he is playing for Sunderland youth team. Good comments about Oleksandr Pishchur, a high attacker from "Pushkash Academy". Bogdan Manuylov has been performing well in Spain. I hope these guys will help us. Although we will have two full working days for preparation" (Uaf.ua, 13.11.23).
The 60-year-old European vice-champion has been working in the structure of youth football of FFU/UAF since 2010, and the current team has been headed since the age of 16. Before that, he was a member of the coaching staff of the national team, with which he took part in the World Cup 2006. So he has no shortage of experience, as well as responsibility for the result. Although the results, to put it bluntly, were not always impressive.
Kuznetsov was quite cautious in his assessment of opponents: "We gathered the most information on the Maltese national team, as we are meeting the hosts in the first round. And we will look at Kosovo and Slovakia at the tournament itself.
I would not be categorical about the favourites. The Maltese will be motivated at home. They met and defeated Kosovo, but it was a very difficult match for Ukraine. And Slovakia has always had promising youngsters. That is why I would not single out any team. All have about equal chances to succeed. However, our team has no other goal but to reach the Elite Round" (Uaf.ua, 13.11.23).
It remained only to realise the dream. And Kuznetsov's charges started quite honourably - with a 3-1 victory over Malta. Curiously, two goals in the match were scored by debutants - Manuylov and Tuterov, and another one was scored by Dynamo's Ponomarenko, which, however, was recorded as an auto-goal by one of the home team's players.
"Kuznetsov's wards opened the scoring quite curiously, - journalist Taras Kotiv described the events in the match. - Bohdan Manuylov served a free kick from the left flank, the projectile flew over the goalkeeper, who recklessly far out, and went down already in the net" (Football24.ua, 15.11.23).
It happened in the 17th minute. Our team had a number of other chances to increase the advantage, but on 59th missed themselves. The Maltese cleverly curled in a corner - the ball either hit Ponomarenko or flew over Fesiuk. We had to turn on additional turnovers.
"Matvey Ponomarenko earned a dangerous standard on the edge of the penalty area and himself with a deft low shot outwitted the goalkeeper. And then Dnipro centre-back Melnichenko intercepted the ball in his own half, passed to the right and rolled the ball to Tuterov. The Sunderland winger masterfully dealt with two Maltese on the break and stitched the goalkeeper through", - Taras Kotiv summarised the match (Football24.ua, 15.11.23).
What happened three days later, it is difficult to say, but our team lost to Kosovo (0:4).
And now the final game in the group against Slovakia, which took place on 21 November, was to decide the fate of the Ukrainian national youth team. Kuznetsov's charges confidently won 4:0 against the Slovaks (the goals were scored by Ermachkov, Derkach, Mikhavko and Ponomarenko) and, thus, fulfilled the task of entering the elite round of the competition (matches of this stage will be held next year).
Victor Zhuravlevlev