Former Dynamo Kyiv defender Vladyslav Vashchuk spoke about his expectations for the Ukraine national team's game against Iceland.
- It will be a very difficult game against Iceland. As hard as possible. I am already ready for it. I am not under any illusions that we will win easily, with class. I am almost sure that they, the Icelanders, will play defensively and the main thing is that the Ukrainians do not get stuck in the Icelandic defence, manage to pass it, break through this palisade of legs. There may be a lot of struggle on the second floor, because this is one of the ways to overcome a layered defence.
It's very important for Ukraine to keep the pace during the game, not to sag. In the game against Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially in the first half, our team often sat deep, let their opponents play, and did not meet them in the centre. In the end, we conceded a goal because we gave a lot of space to Amar Dedić, who shot, and Mykola Matvienko cut it into his own net. I hope that Serhii Rebrov has done a serious job of working on mistakes and pointed out some of the players' mistakes.
- Are you talking about Oleksandr Zinchenko, who has received some criticism from my colleagues from other media outlets?
- Zinchenko didn't play below his level in Bosnia, I don't agree with the criticism against him. Although sometimes there were some misunderstandings between Oleksandr and his teammates. However, even Zinchenko after the injury, with his experience, will bring more benefit to Ukraine than his fresher teammates.
- A conditional Mykola Shaparenko?
- You see, Zinchenko is one of the leaders of Ukraine. He can lead his teammates, lead the team when necessary. Such players play a big role in important matches, when speed or individual skill does not always decide everything, but psychology comes to the fore. Mentally, Zinchenko is a strong player. He has the psychology of a winner.
I don't know who criticised him. For example, I have more questions about the other players in the middle of the field, who played very poorly, it seems that if they could, they would have sat behind Andriy Lunin in defence altogether.
- Are we talking about Volodymyr Brazhko? As for me, he didn't shy away. There were mistakes, but not fatal ones. And it was definitely not him who scored the goal.
- I agree that he did not hesitate. However, for a full-back, Brazhko played too low. I don't know exactly what role Rebrova assigned him on the pitch, but it seems that he played almost as a central defender and failed to cope with these functions. Where was Brazhko when we scored?
I don't want to criticise Brazhko too much, because he's still a young guy. His first game for the national team, and in such a crucial match. God willing, he will only grow and become stronger. He just needs to be more confident. Not to be afraid. And to destroy in the centre and join the attacks. At Dynamo, he shows that he can do that. Let's put his not-so-good game in Bosnia down to nerves.
- There is an opinion that the winning line-up is not changed. Do you think Serhii Rebrov will do exactly that?
- Few people change the winning line-up. There are some. And it will probably be the same. The only thing is that Ruslan Malynovskyi, who played well as a substitute in the previous match, or Roman Yaremchuk, the hero of the match against Bosnia, will probably start the game against Iceland.
- Viktor Tsygankov has already had a few training sessions with the general group, so my namesake will probably return to the squad.
- If Vitya comes back, of course, it will be a very qualitative strengthening of the attacking potential for Ukraine. He will definitely show his class there on the side. However, the Icelanders also analyse Ukraine's game and know Tsygankov's strengths. They may be ready for him to come back and try to neutralise him by assigning a player or two to him.
In any case, I repeat, Tsygankov's return will add to Ukraine's attacking power. Even if he is not allowed to run, he will constantly distract players, which means that our forwards will have more space.
- Again, to the probable starting line-up. Shouldn't we start playing with two forwards at once? Artem Dovbyk and Roman Yaremchuk showed great cooperation and saved Ukraine from disgrace in Zenica.
- Bosnia was not ready for two forwards, they came out with three defenders. Their coach(Savo Milosevic - author) guessed that Ukraine would come out with one striker. But when Yaremchuk came on, they paid the price for this tactical formation. Serhii Rebrov outplayed his opponent tactically, thanks to well-made substitutions.
Both Dovbyk and Yaremchuk are big, tall strikers. Both are good at pushing and playing on the second floor. These are the kind of forwards we need for a game against teams like Iceland - strong, athletic. But I don't think we'll start with a duo of strikers.
And, you know, it's great that the current Ukrainian national team has a player like Mudryk. Mykhailo, with his speed, can also make a difference against the burly Icelandic players, who are not very agile.
- So, what can you say about Iceland?
- For me, this team is, frankly, a dark horse. They have Albert Gudmundson, who plays with our Ruslan Malinowski in the same team, but otherwise... This team is well known only to local journalists. The players of our national team have also studied it, because they have accurately analysed the games of the islanders in theory.
Iceland, that legendary team that played at Euro 2016 and reached the 1/4 finals, was strong as a team, collectively. Their current team is the same. They don't have any world or even European stars, so it's impossible to single anyone out, but the team itself is good.
- Yukhym Konoplya, speaking about the strength of the Icelandic national team, said that it was Bosnia multiplied by three.
- Apparently, Konoplya had excellent grades in mathematics at school. The man knows how to multiply by three (smiles). That's an interesting comparison... I think Iceland and Bosnia and Herzegovina are completely different teams. And I'm not just talking about the names of the countries. I'm talking about the style of play, the quality of their players, the tactical structure.
The match against Iceland, if compared to the match against Bosnia, will be exactly three times more important. They will make every effort to win. And our guys have to do the same. In knockout matches, character always comes to the fore.
- In 1999, almost 25 years ago, on 31 March, you also played against Iceland as part of the Ukrainian national team. And not just played, but scored a magnificent goal in Kyiv. If I didn't know you were a defender, I would have thought you were a forward - a solo pass to the halfway line, a delicious final shot. Really, a very cool goal.
- Thank you. It's nice that you remember. Of course, I'll never forget that game either, because that goal remained my only one in the Ukrainian national team shirt. How can you not remember that? It's a pity we didn't win in Kyiv(a 1-1 draw - ed.).
But in the away match, we were stronger. Serhii scored for them(Ukraine won 1-0, thanks to Serhii Rerov's goal - ed.). So Rebrov knows how to beat Iceland.
- Any predictions from Vladyslav Vashchuk?
- We'll do without him (smiles) . I'll tell you this: I will be rooting for our national team very fervently and hope that we will beat them! I have faith in this team. As well as in the fact that all the players of Serhii Rebrov's team understand the responsibility they have and the true weight of the result. A ticket to the European Championship is at stake here, and something more. The prestige of our country in Europe and the world at large. For us, this victory will be like a breath of fresh air in times of war, allowing us to be distracted for at least an hour or two.
Viktor Glukhenkyi