Thehead coach of the youth national team of Ukraine (players not older than 2007) Yuriy Moroz summed up the team's performance in the final part of Euro 2024 U-17.
- Yurii, why do you think our national team failed to at least qualify for the group stage?
- If we analyse what happened, it seems to me that the guys burned out in terms of their attitude to the game, in terms of the team's interaction on the pitch. There were a lot of inexplicable mistakes in simple situations, we often lost the fight. There was even some nervousness, and this probably affected the final result of our performance.
- It is clear that you have carefully studied your group rivals, and speaking in general, Ukraine was as good as Serbia and the Czech Republic...
- In the first half of the match with the Serbs, we lost in the desire to fight, in the desire to win this fight. But if we had been able to convert our numerous chances after the break, things might have turned out differently. But, as they say, you don't wave your fists after a fight. In our group, the Czechs were the most stable in all respects, no wonder they earned nine points. But, as you can see, youth football is somewhat different from adult football. This team with great potential ended its journey at the quarter-final stage.
- Could our players have underestimated their opponents, given who could have been in our group and who was in it?
- I don't rule it out. Again, we can go back to the match against Serbia. What was our first half performance and what was the second... However, I still tend to believe that somewhere the guys were nervous.
- Perhaps it was the failure in the game against Serbia that knocked the team out of the rut?
- This match was somewhat decisive, because after the defeat we had to beat the Czech Republic to have a chance to get out of the group. But too much emotion played a cruel joke on us, as the childish mistakes that led to our first goal were inexplicable. Why? Because the boys had never made such mistakes before.
Nevertheless, we shouldn't throw ashes on our heads, what happened is what happened, we can't turn back the clock. We need to draw the right conclusions and move on.
- Were there any players in the squad to whom you have no - or at least the least - complaints?
- If the team loses, there are questions to all the players, and if it wins, there are practically no complaints. Almost everything depends on the final result. Of course, I would like to see some positions strengthened, and not by players with higher quality, but by players with better anthropometric data. But at the same time, I can't say that this Ukrainian national team was poorly equipped. Today they were the best performers in their age group. I can't say that we missed someone or didn't take them for some reason.
- Can this squad become stronger in the future, or do you need to look for reserves?
- You always have to look for reserves, it's a coaching job. But in my experience of working with young people, I can say with confidence that 40 per cent of the current U-19 team will change. Some will lower their standards, some of the potential candidates for the team will improve their skills, and this is a fact. It is important to catch this moment so that only the best players wear the national team shirts at any given time.