Vitaliy Kvartsianyi, President of the Volyn Football Federation and iconic coach, shared his expectations for the Poland-Ukraine friendly.
- Vitaliy Volodymyrovych, against the backdrop of the Ukrainian national team's not very expressive performance against Germany in Nuremberg, what are your expectations for the match in Warsaw?
- You know, I think that we will see something similar to the game against Germany in Ukraine's performance in the match against Poland. Although I hope our team will play more aggressively. As for the Poles, they should be more charged than the Germans.
It's just that, you know, Serhii Rebrov checks and analyzes the players in these friendly matches. He needs to watch everyone he calls up, if possible. And not in training, but in the game.
Although, let's be honest, in control games, the guys will not make physical contact, will not be lying down in the box. Who wants to get injured in a friendly and then miss the European Championship? If you give up your health, you need to do it for something. Our players will not kill themselves and give their best now.
- After the "dry" draw with Germany, many experts and former national team players, such as Vasyl Kobin, criticized Serhiy Rebrov for choosing a too defensive model of play. Like, five defenders and one striker is too much. It's like some kind of Catenaccio. Do you share this point of view?
- Germany is a very serious opponent. This is one of the strongest teams in the world, not just Europe, despite the fact that there are also enough young people in its current composition and there has been a certain change of generations. The Germans have been world champions four times. This is a very organized, disciplined, well-trained team. And the fact that Ukraine did not lose to them is already a good result. Although, it should be said that Bundesliga coach Julian Nagelsmann made some experiments with the lineup in the game against Ukraine.
- Does the scheme of three center backs in the national team of Ukraine have the right to live?
- I repeat, Rebrov will look for options in the match against the Germans and in the game against the Poles, experimenting with the lineup. Perhaps in the matches at Euro 2024 we will also see our national team with five nominal defenders, but two or even three of them will be focused on attack. As for me, Oleksandr Svatok or Mykola Matvienko can join the attacks. Or we will see activity on the edges, and Oleksandr Zinchenko and Yukhym Konoplya will be the shuttlers. And I really hope that Vitaliy Mykolenko will return and be fully ready for the start of the Euro.
- The tone of Cobin's criticism was harsh. Is it fair based on the results of Rebrov's first 11 matches?
- Before the start of the Euros, Serhii Rebrov has the right to make any experiments. And now to criticize him... Well, I don't know. It is wrong. He is making his mind up, trying to find the best lineup, forming a team game, playing off the interaction. Now he must have full confidence in this or that player, and only then, at Euro 2024, turn on his intuition and really form the starting eleven.
- That is, you should not demand victory from the Ukrainians and criticize the coach for the lack of results. Do I understand you correctly?
- Now the result is not in the first place. The European Championship is another matter. The match against Romania at Euro 2024 will be decisive in many ways, fundamental, although it will be the first in the tournament. We need to win, get three points, say 'huh! Exhale, get some rest and prepare for Slovakia.
We need to get our guys confident in the first two matches at the European Championships so that they can go into the game against Belgium with confidence. If we get six points in the first two games, then the game against the Belgians will no longer matter much, except for potentially first place.
- If we talk about the class of national teams, Germany is, of course, more venerable than Ukraine. Poland, in my opinion, is definitely not superior to Ukraine. Even in terms of names. Yes, they have Robert Lewandowski, but we have Artem Dovbyk. He has already wiped the Pole's nose in La Liga in absentia, having passed him in the scoring race.
- Lewandowski is not the same anymore. He is already from the football fair. And all our "guys" are growing and moving forward in their development. However, Poland is definitely not inferior to Ukraine, because they have a stronger domestic championship now. Yes, it's a pity, but now the Ekstraklasa is better than the UPL. Polish football is on the rise, developing. And they, like us, have a lot of players who play very well in Europe.
However, the representatives of the Ukrainian national team, our legionnaires from Europe, are much more starry-eyed. The same Dovbyk, you mentioned him yourself, who surpassed Lewandowski in La Liga.
And we also have Mudryk, who has not yet realized his full potential. Let's not forget about Sudakov, who will try to prove himself as well as possible. Both Mykhailo and Gerogiy are still in the process of forming. They have not yet shown their full potential.
Roman Yaremchuk is already an established footballer, but something is constantly going wrong with him: injuries, transfers back and forth, and he doesn't play consistently anywhere... Maybe at the Euros he will finally show that he is really a scorer.
As for Dovbyk, he hasn't fully shown what he can do yet either. I'm sure he will move to an even more serious club than Girona, if not in the summer, then later. He will go on to promotion and will have the opportunity to make a louder statement. He has all the makings for that.
As a summary - if we take by name, our team individually still outperforms the Poles.
- Should we expect a lineup rotation from Rebrov?
- Yes. Most likely. For example, instead of Trubin, Lunin will most likely come on from the first minutes. Perhaps Dovbyk will start at the forefront of the attack, and Yaremchuk will replace him after the break or in the second half. Maybe not, but Artem has to play against Poland anyway.
- Rebrova and Vladyslav Vanat are also in the lineup. He is the best scorer in the UPL. However, there is a feeling that he will be firmly in the reserve, given the presence of Dovbyk and Yaremchuk in the team.
- Vanat will have his playing time. Maybe not much, but Rebrov will give him a chance to prove himself. Even if he doesn't take the field against Poland, the coach should play Vladyslav against Moldova.
If Rebrov sees everything he wants to see from Dovbyk and Yaremchuk in two games, even though their potential is already clear, Vanat will definitely play a half or more in the last friendly, and maybe even in Warsaw.
- In addition to Lewandowski, Poland also has a great goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny from Juventus, midfielder Piotr Zielinski from Napoli, and Nicola Zalewski from Roma.
- The names are loud, but Zielinski, if I'm not mistaken, had problems with the game practice in Napoli(Piotr missed the last five matches in Serie A due to injury- V.G.'s note).
Of course, Szczęsny is a great goalkeeper, and Zielinski is an excellent midfielder, one of the leaders of the squad along with Lewandowski. There are also interesting players in Poland in the middle of the field: Bartosz Slisz, the same Zalewski, Przemysław Frankowski (from Lens, France- V.G.'s note).
However, no matter how many Polish matches I have watched, they always have problems in defense. There is a lot of confusion in defensive actions. It seems that their defenders act well individually, but there is always some kind of mess: ricochets, slices, the ball is knocked out everywhere. And this is what our players should take advantage of.
You know, for some reason I think that even when playing at home, Poland can act as the second best team, despite the "crazy" pressure from their fans.
- Meanwhile, Poland has almost become a second home for our national team, which played two qualifying matches in Wroclaw.
- This is true, but we will play in Warsaw, where I am sure the stands will be full, all the fans will be wearing red and white and will be driving their team forward. The pressure will be "decent". There will be a lot of our fans, and maybe the Ukrainians will shout a little (laughs).
- Vitalii Kvartsianyi's prediction for the game.
- I think there will be a draw, but not a goalless one. Most likely, 1:1.
Viktor Hlukhenkyi