Next Thursday, 21 March, the Ukrainian national team will face a crucial test - a semi-final Euro 2024 play-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina. The stakes are high: a meeting with the winner of the Israel-Iceland pairing, a win against which opens the way to the final part of the continental championship, starting on 14 June at the stadiums of Germany.
Serhiy Rebrov. Photo — uaf.uaIt is clear that all last week the main attention of the media, football community and UAF management was paid to the preparations for the upcoming matches, first of all - to the first of them, which by the will of the lot the Blue and Yellows will have to play in difficult away conditions at the Bilino Polje stadium in the Bosnian town of Zenica (population of about 73,000 inhabitants).
For this purpose, the national association took care of holding a training camp in Marbella, and the matches of the 21st round of the Ukrainian championship with the participation of clubs - the main suppliers of players for the national team (Dynamo, Shakhtar and Dnipro 1) - were rescheduled for Tuesday, 12 March.
Moreover, in order for the training process to be full-fledged until the legionnaires arrive at Serhiy Rebrov's disposal, the delegation included six representatives of the youth team - Dynamo's Nesheret, Vivcharenko and Nazar Voloshyn, Dnipro's Rubchynskyi and Ocheretko, as well as Luhansk's Batagov.
In addition, another Dynamo player Oleksandr Tymchyk and Oleksiy Gutsulyak from Dnipro-1 were transferred from the reserve list to the main one. Thus, the national team's total roster comprised 28 players: 16 from the domestic championship (Dynamo has the biggest representation - 7 players) and 12 from foreign ones (9 from the top five).
For the first time Dynamo player Volodymyr Brazhko got a call-up to the national team. At the same time, Yarmolenko (not fully recovered yet) and Stepanenko are absent due to injuries.
Make a dream come true
Last Wednesday, the UAF organised a send-off and a press briefing for the delegation travelling from Kyiv to Marbella at the capital's Central Railway Station.
"I would like to welcome our team and wish them to prepare well for very important matches. I wish our players to be inspired and strong! And they have to fulfil the responsible task: to reach the European first place", - Andriy Shevchenko welcomed the participants of the meeting (Uaf.ua, 13.03.24).
The association president also congratulated the U17 national youth team, which won its elite qualification group and qualified for Euro 2024. He also announced the start of fundraising together with the Superhumans Centre for an all-Ukrainian centre for prosthetics, reconstructive surgery, rehabilitation and psychological support for adults and children affected by the war. Shevchenko urged everyone present to join this action.
And the next day on his Facebook page he wrote: "Yesterday I had the opportunity to communicate with young footballers of FC Lokomotiv Kyiv. They came to the railway station to meet the players of the national team. On 23 January, their home stadium was destroyed after a rocket attack, and now they are already training there. I see such evidence of the strength of spirit and courage of Ukrainians every day, and it is inspiring" (Dynamo.kiev.ua, 14.03.24).
"I am grateful to the president of the UAF, who came here to support our boys. I am also grateful to all those who cheer for us, because the matches are very important. I am confident in our strength, confident in our players, and we will do everything to fulfil the task set before us," Serhiy Rebrov assured (Uaf.ua, 13.03.24).
Of course, such confidence of the head coach cannot but be encouraging. Moreover, during the incomplete year of work in the national team, Rebrov has already repeatedly confirmed his qualifications, his ability to find rational and correct solutions, to overcome difficult situations in matches with serious opponents. And most importantly - to instil confidence in his charges.
"We haven't seen the boys for almost four months," continued Sergei Rebrov. - Therefore, it was very important to gather early to have time to look at everyone. Actually, that's what the training camp is organised for. On the other hand, it is important that all our players have practice in their clubs. They are well aware that first of all they need to look at themselves. Although, of course, we will give the guys full information about the opponent. But, I repeat, first of all, we need to prepare ourselves well " (Dynamo.kiev.ua, 14.03.24).
The mentor also touched on the injury recently received by Viktor Tsygankov. He admitted that he is in touch with the midfielder every day, monitoring the dynamics of his recovery. And will be glad if the representative of Girona can help the national team.
"Immediately, when I come to the national team training camp, I feel unimovable emotions, - said the Dynamo player Georgi Buschan, who took part in the briefing. - I am glad to see all the boys. We understand the importance of the coming match and we want to prepare well at the training camp. We all want to realise our dream and qualify for the European Championship" (Uaf.ua, 13.03.24).
The debutant of the national team, Volodymyr Brazhko, admitted that he dreamed of becoming a player of the national team and now he will do everything in his power to gain a foothold in it.
The Ukrainian delegation arrived at the destination on Thursday afternoon. In Marbella it was already waiting for Oleksandr Zinchenko: the game of his Arsenal with Chelsea in the Premier League in connection with the participation of the latter in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup postponed, and the footballer was able to arrive early at the location of the national team. The next day Zabarny and Mikolenko used a similar option. On Saturday, Tsygankov and Taloverov arrived in the camp of the blue and yellow, on Sunday - Lunin and Dovbik, a little later - the rest of the legionnaires.
Ilya Zabarny, by the way, scored his first English goal against Luton in the last match for Bournemouth, which, of course, as well as the victory of his team (4:3), added to the centre-back's mood. Oleksandr Zinchenko, who has already made two substitute appearances for Arsenal, seems to have recovered from his injury, which is also good news.
Zinchenko expressed full solidarity with Serhiy Rebrov about the upcoming opponent: "I think we should not look at the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but we need to prepare ourselves and show our best game. If we focus on ourselves, we will be able to demonstrate even more than the fans expect from us" (Sportarena.com, 16.03.24).
Undoubtedly, much in the fight with the Bosnians will depend on the goalkeeper's performance. Sergei Rebrov has a good choice now - Lunin, Buschan, Trubin, and who will be favoured will probably be decided only on the day of the game. Meanwhile, the work is boiling.
"Each team has its own specific keys, which it picks up to the supervisor's defence, more or less expressed. Therefore, the goalkeeper must be ready for everything and understand how the opponent will attack. And we, of course, will be ready for it, " said Rustam Khudjamov, the coach of the Ukrainian national team goalkeepers, a pupil of Dynamo Kyiv (Uaf.ua, 16.03.24).
In Marbella our national team will work until 19 March, after which it will take a course to the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina - Sarajevo ...
An important component of the Bosnians
Probably, one of the attentive observers of the Bosnians' duel with Ukraine will be the coach of the Belgian national team Domenico Tedesco. And the thing is that it is in the final group E of Euro-2024 in the company of the Belgians, Slovaks and Romanians will get the best team of the way B of the Nations League from our quartet. Actually, the German specialist with Italian roots and does not hide that he already knows a lot about Sergei Rebrov's team.
"In my opinion, the Ukrainians have the most realistic chances to get through to the German side. And not only because their squad looks much better than that of their opponents. Over the past few years, a whole group of young talented footballers haveappeared in Ukraine , who have found a place in very serious clubs in Europe. And not just found a place, but became leaders, authorities. And when the core of your national team is made up of players who play in the most powerful championships on the continent, it is already a great argument, " Tedesco believes.
For me, another important point is the style of play of the team, its football philosophy and priorities. Football, which the Ukraine national team plays today, is modern, modern, European level. This is the spirit of the time. Maybe not always and not everything comes out in the Ukrainians, but this team is on the right track, and therefore the logical progress we seein their game " - summarised the Belgian coach (Footboom1.com, 15.03.24).
The mentor admitted that he did not draw his conclusions on bare ground. Preparing for the friendly match with England, he watched the video of the September meeting between the British and Ukraine (1:1) and was surprised at how many problems Serhiy Rebrov's wards created for their opponents. Most of the English trump cards were beaten, which, in Tedesco's opinion, speaks of a clear coaching set-up, psychological readiness of the team, its maximum dedication.
The blue-and-yellow team's zero draw with Italy only convinced Tedesco of his rightness: "What makes Ukraine great is the strength of spirit. When there is a war in your country, you think about patriotism and give yourself on the football field without reserve. Against teams with such anattitude, with such a mentality is important to play against any supervisor" (Footboom1.com, 15.03.24).
"I read some of what they write about us. I think our team is underestimated, and I am even happy about it. Idon't like to answer such things publicly, we'd rather answer on the pitch," Serbian Bosnian manager Savo Milosevic reacted in an interview with TV N1 Sarajevo (Ua.tribuna.com, 16.03.24).
And also: "I don't think Ukraine is much better for us because of the individual qualities of the players," says the coach. - Alot of decisions are solved by the team through tactics. If we do everything right, I hope we will play at the European Championship. It takes effort, and the boys realise it" (Footboom1.com, 13.03.24).
But Milosevic's words were the most ambiguous: "Now the situation in Ukraine is as it is. I believe that we should try to concentrate exclusively on what will happen on the field. The situation and problems in Ukraine are their problems".
Thus, willingly or unwillingly, the opponents' head coach brought political overtones into the atmosphere of the upcoming match. And, given the expansiveness of the Balkan fans, which has made itself known more than once, including at the Bilino Polje stadium in Zenica, provocations, and not only verbal ones, cannot be ruled out. After all, the stands in this arena are located just a couple of metres from the sideline.
By the way, in November 2002, Bosnia and Herzegovina was supposed to hold a sparring match with the Russians in St. Petersburg, but due to the principled position of a number of leading players, especially the team captain Edin Dzeko, the match had to be cancelled. Nevertheless, the current Bosnian squad includes four players representing clubs of the aggressor country. And this is another nuance of the confrontation.
The 37-year-old Džeko is still the most famous player of the Bosnian team. Pjanic (33), Kolasinac and Krunic (30 each) are the other leaders in age.
The Balkans failed in the Euro 2024 defence cycle, finishing only 5th in the group and changing three coaches (Hadzibegic, Kodro, Milosevic) in the course of qualification. And now they are forced to make their way to the final tournament, just like Ukraine, through the Nations League quota.
"P'yat place in the groupi - not what this team deserved, - believes Sergei Rebrov. - Savo Milosevic after his arrival conducted a great rotation, changed a lot of players. Almost all of them play in Europe. We watched a lot of matches of the Bosnians. They are a solid team, but we must be ready for them" (Bolel-ik.com.ua, 13.03.24).
By the way, on 19 November 2021, the Ukrainian national team in Zenica beat the hosts in the final match of qualification for the World Cup-2022 - 2:0 (after a draw in Lviv - 1:1). Apart from Sidorchuk, other current national team players - Buschan, Tymchyk, Zabarnyy, Matvienko, Shaparenko, Zinchenko and others - took part in those matches. So there is experience of victory over a specific opponent. True, its price is now incommensurably higher.
The generation of winners is growing
Last week Ukraine U17 national youth team won a ticket to the final tournament of Euro 2024, which will be held in May-June in Cyprus. Yuriy Moroz's charges defeated Slovakia (3-0) in the decisive match of the elite group and without conceding a single goal they confidently took the first place.
Meanwhile, the match in Greece's Patras was interrupted for almost four hours due to a powerful storm. However, this did not at all discourage the Ukrainian team, which after the resumption of play before the break scored two goals against the Slovaks. And the final point in the game was set by Bayer Leverkusen striker Artem Stepanov.
All in all, there was room for seven young legionnaires in the Blue-Yellow team, and two of them - Dmitriy Bogdanov from Dynamo Dresden and Aleksandr Dragan from Atalanta - were training at the Academy of Dynamo Kyiv before the full-scale invasion. As well as the main goalkeeper Oleksandr Petrenko from Bayer, who missed the tournament due to a hand injury. For the same reason defender Daniel Dikhtyar did not go to Patras.
Nevertheless, the contribution of the capital's pupils to the success can be called the key. After all, Dynamo were represented in Greece by defenders Oleksiy Rybak and Demyan Tretiak, as well as midfield players Bohdan Redushko, Volodymyr Ozimai and Pavlo Lyusin.
No other domestic club has such a representation (Rukh and Shakhtar have delegated three people each). At the same time, according to experts, Redushko, Bogdanov and Tretiak were the best in our team, while centre-back Tretiak, who led his partners on the pitch with the captain's armband in the match against the Slovaks, was picked up by Manchester United scouts.
"Tretiak has become the leader of the defence of Yuriy Moroz's team. He has excellent physical characteristics by nature. He isquick, mobile, he does not lose anything either at the bottom or in the mountains," columnist Serhiy Tishchenko described the young footballer (Sport.ua, 13.03.24).
"We travelled to Greece with a single goal - to win first place in the group and get a ticket to the finals," said one of the heroes of the tournament. - And after we defeated the Slovaks, the emotions were very exuberant. It' s understandable that it's uncomfortable when the game is cancelled through a spill, thunderstorm, bliskavka, but the coaching staff was able to convey to us that this is the last game, and we must do everything, give our best to achieve victory" (Fcdynamo.com, 15.03.24).
Tretiak admitted that all the games were difficult for him personally - especially against Switzerland, when for the first half-hour it was unclear which way the scales would tip. In the end, the opponents were still able to be broken (3-0), and the opening game was won over the hosts (2-0).
"It was better to convey to the footballers the requirements we put to them, so that the team had a complete game," said Yuriy Moroz. - I am not worried, there were worries, as I was afraid that the players might take them inadequately. But they did well, they tried to do everything until the end, and it gave the result" (Uaf.ua, 14.03.24).
The mentor did not single out anyone. He only noted that the tournament was attended by scouts from a number of APL and Bundesliga clubs, who must have paid attention to the Ukrainian team, which looked decent and coherent both in defence and in attack.
It should be said that Yuriy Moroz has only recently taken charge of the U17 national team, having replaced Volodymyr Yezersky as the team's coach. With Yezerskiy, the blue-and-yellow team had a difficult first stage of qualification in the rivalry with Germany, Finland and Liechtenstein, while under his leadership the main selection work was carried out. So the predecessor should be given credit.
But Yuriy Moroz is not a newcomer in youth football, having worked in the structure of national teams of different ages for many years. And Dynamo Kyiv under his leadership made a splash in the youth Champions League of the 2016/2017 season, when Mikolenko, Popov, Shaparenko, Dubinchak, Lednev, Rusin played for the team.
"Moroz did not just ride on the baggage of the forerunner or vikoristovuvuvuvuvuvuvuvuvannya club directions, but to develop something of his own. While the defence and attack did not change, the midfield changed significantly. Thecoach knows how to work with young footballers, how to vibudovuvativate the relationship with the players, is able to find an approach to the different types of players", - summarises Serhiy Tishchenko (Sport.ua, 13.03.24).
By the way, for the Ukrainian U17 national team the current success is the first since 2017, and just the seventh in history. Now our team is waiting for the draw of the final tournament, which will be held on 3 April in the resort Ayia Napa in Cyprus.
"You've made a very important step in your career," UAF president Andriy Shevchenko welcomed the finalists of the European Championship in the electronic conference mode, so that the legionnaires could hear these words. - I did not reach such success when I was your age. And you - well done!" (Uaf.ua, 16.03.24).
At the same time, the head of the national association noted that this was only the beginning of a great journey. And the true criterion for assessing the level of each player's game will be the performance at the European Championship. And, following modern trends, the main thing will be not so much individual skills, but teamwork, collective success. And he promised to try to find an opportunity to support the guys directly in Cyprus.
Snowy victory of Dynamo
The 21st round of the Ukrainian championship stretched from Tuesday to Sunday. "Dnipro-1 lost points again in the away match with LNZ (1:1), Shakhtar had already set a comfortable score (2:0) in the game with Minay by the 30th minute, and Dynamo Kyiv in the March snowfall that broke out just before the meeting with Zorya thanks to goals by Vanat and Popov defeated the Luhansk side (2:0).
"At the pre-match warm-up the pitch was in a much better condition than during the game, when we had to pidlashtovativate under the lawn. So today, taking into account the weather conditions, it was not a very bad football. But we set up for an important game and did everything for the victory", - admitted after the meeting the goalkeeper of Kyiv Kyiv Georgiy Buschan, who in the third match in a row led his partners on the field with the captain's armband (Fcdynamo.com, 12.03.24).
"I could see the ball well, but sometimes it was difficult to see my partners because our white uniforms merged with the snow. It added difficulties, but it is important that in such difficult conditions we achieved victory, " - in unison noted striker Vladislav Vanat, who scored his 10th goal in the championship and continues to lead the race of scorers (Ua.tribuna.com, 12.03.24).
The game, by the way, had to be played with a coloured ball, the markings were well cleared and the officials decided that the match would go ahead. But who knew that the snowfall would only intensify. And as you know, you can't go against nature.
"AgainstDynamoKyiv,they are doing their best, and the snowfall only addedto the problems," added midfielder Vladislav Kabaev. - Itwas hard towork with flour, to control it, to outplay the opponents. And thechances of the sides were equalised" (Sportarena.com, 12.03.24).
Kabaev also admitted that after the disappointing misfire in Rivne a round earlier the team gathered at the base, had a frank conversation, discussed all the problems and misunderstandings and were preparing for the game with Zorya with positive emotions.
"Zorya" recently, despite the speculations of well-wishers, has become a very difficult opponent for Dynamo. The last time Kyivians beat the Luhansk side in August 2021, and last season they lost twice (2:3 and 0:1), having let Patrick van Leeuwen's team to the third place in the final standings.
Probably, that's why this time the Luhansk side were denied the right to use the services of Oleksandr Yatsyk, Anton Bol and Vikenty Voloshyn, who were rented from the capital club, in the match with Dynamo. Besides, injuries did not allow Mishnev and Kiryukhantsev to play, Guerrero felt sick at the last moment.
In addition, a number of Zorya players have accumulated claims to the management regarding the payment of their labour, which the club is still dealing with. Not surprisingly, the team came to the match with Dynamo in a somewhat unusual line-up, which was based on foreigners and newcomers. Nevertheless, this did not relieve the visitors of their desire to fight the favourite. However, desire alone was not enough, and even the snowfall did not help.
"There was nothing constructive about theLuhansk side, they settled on ruinuvannion the pitch," journalist Serhiy Voronyuk described the events of the match. - Having a generous defence, Dynamo tried to vary the attacking lines, they often gave in to long-range shots, but it didn't take long for them to get to the dangerous moments. Even before Vanat said his final word. Having taken a long-iron pass from Vivcharenok, he cold-bloodedly let the ball go under the goalkeeper from a rather sharp cut" (Footclub.com.ua, 12.03.24).
"Zorya revitalised after the conceded goal, but Dynamo did not slow down either. And they were eventually rewarded when, in the 85th minute, after Andriyevskyi's gorgeous free-kick, Popov won the battle in the air at the far post and sent the ball in.
"Of course, the weather conditions affected the actions of the players, but in the context of the match plan we tried to fulfil what we agreed with the guys," Oleksandr Shovkovskiy summed up thematch. - We tried to press, immediately get into the fight, take the ball away, undermine the opponent's defence. I think that, in principle, we managed to do it" (Dynamo.kiev.ua, 12.03.24).
From other events of the tour, obviously, we should highlight a big away victory of "Rukh" over "Metalist 1925" (4:1) and another away win of "Rukh" over "Metalist 1925" (4:1). (4:1) and another failure of "Polesya" - this time away to "Obolon" (0:1) under a new head coach - Serhiy Shishchenko.
"Yuriy Kalitvintsev made a decision to resign on his own. It was an important decision for him, as well as for me to wait for him.Kalitvintsevis a person whom I respect very much. We have formed a close and trusting relationship, which I appreciate very much and I will never forget what he has done for " Polissya", - commented on the changes on the coaching bridge of Zhytomyr club president Gennadiy Butkevich (Polissyafc.com, 11.03.24).
"Polesie" in the meantime from a contender for the prize-winning team dropped to the sixth line of the standings. And Kryvbas after the victory over Kolos (1:0) caught up with Shakhtar (43 points each). "Dynamo" (38) is still fourth, but in terms of points lost is only two points behind the Pitmen.
The base day of the next round will be 30 March.
Viktor ZHURAVLEV
