Head coach of the Ukraine U-19 national team Dmytro Mykhailenko spoke about the football his team wants to play, its rivals at Euro 2024 and the improvement of the Blue and Yellows' game.
Dmytro Mykhailenko (photo: D. Rudenko)- "First of all, I want to emphasise that we are doing everything to ensure that our players join the ranks of the first team. We try to play modern football - the kind of football played by the national team. We aim to make sure that the players do not worry, are not afraid to make mistakes and play modern football.
What do we mean by that? To act from a position of strength, even if we are playing against a very good opponent, not to be afraid, not to press against our goal, but to try to impose our strength and will on the opponent. Play passing, start from our goal through combinations, create a majority, play between the lines, threaten the goal a lot. And if the opponent has the ball, then to be active, not to be afraid to press him as high as possible, and if he passes us, to quickly return behind the ball line.
Rivals. I've seen only one team - the Italian team - when we were preparing for the match against Switzerland. I remember it - the Italians played with a big advantage, but lost 0-1. This is my point: you can play with anyone and you can beat anyone.
As a fan, I was at the match between Italy U-17 and Ukraine U-17 players born in 2006 in Cyprus. Although the Italians won, there were no players who were better than ours. They won only due to tactics, smarter actions in the last 25 metres of the pitch and clear defensive play. But it was not a team that had a big advantage. Ordinary footballers who pay a lot of attention to tactics - Italy is like that.
As for Norway, the days when they played primitive football are over. Now the Norwegians are changing their approach to young men and play athletically and combinationally. We have already met Norway, and the opponent showed a very decent level. There are many players from leading European clubs, so it will be a worthy opponent.
As for our improvement, there is a lot to improve. But we need to set ourselves the maximum goal and demand full commitment from all players. We must first try to reach the semi-finals, and then we will aim for something more," said the coach.
