Former Karpaty and Zakarpattia player Mykhailo Kopolovets shared with Sport.UA his impressions of the head-to-head match between the national teams of Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina for the right to play in the final of the European Football Championship and his expectations of the game against Iceland.
Mikhail Kopolovets- The Ukrainian national team was considered the favourite in Zenica. In the table of ranks, it is significantly superior to the Bosnian team. In the end, the selection of our players is impressive, most of them representing famous clubs from the top championships. It seemed that the Ukrainians would easily prove their superiority in class. However, this did not happen in Zenica. In particular, I was convinced that our team would create at least 4-5 goal-scoring chances, but the hosts were superior in this respect. Fortunately, yesterday we managed to avoid it, and we should thank the Balkans' scorer Edin Dzeko, who did not score from deadly positions. Our first two shots on goal at the end of the match were effective. Was it luck? Perhaps, because the opponent could have played more competently. Especially on their own field.
You can't deny the guests their diligence. We must also pay tribute to the manager Serhii Rebrov, who made substitutions in the middle of the second half that helped seize the initiative. Roman Yaremchuk's appearance on the pitch was decisive, as he levelled the situation and then made a successful pass to Artem Dovbyk. Of course, a strong-willed victory is good news, but we wanted more meaningful football. Ukraine really needed this victory at this difficult time. And we wanted it to be won with class, without nervous tension.
Our guys will be the favourites in the decisive match with the Icelanders on 26 March. I'd like to see Viktor Tsygankov play, who was missing in Zenitsa. I also wonder whether Serhii Rebrov will risk using two strikers, which helped us to win against the Bosnians. There is still time to weigh everything up. In Wroclaw, our guys will have a huge support of 12 players. This is very important. We all expect not only a victory but also a spectacular game from the Ukrainian national team. According to the table of ranks," said Kopolovets.
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