Ukraine's midfielder Taras Stepanenko commented on the friendly match against Germany (0:0).
Taras Stepanenko (photo: uaf.ua)
- It was a difficult match, because we played with a very strong team. They controlled the ball and created chances. We played on the counterattack, and we also had a couple of good chances. I think we withstood, played well in defense. A draw against such a team is a good result. It was the head coach's birthday, and we are glad that we gave him a result, not a tie.
Germany is now a more organized, disciplined team than a year ago. When we played them back then, they had open free areas where you could run in. Now it's very difficult to counterattack against them because they block the zones and play carefully. So we had few counterattacks, although they were sharp. We can definitely say that Germany has become stronger than a year ago.
It was especially difficult for us in the first 20 minutes of both the first and second halves. They were playing at home, in front of their fans, so they tried to put pressure. The stands were pushing them, and they really wanted to score a quick goal. It's good that we survived. All the guys defended well, helped each other, closed the zones. It's a good result for us," said Taras.
