Oleh Kuznetsov, former defender and coach of Dynamo Kyiv and the Ukrainian national team, commented on the Blue and Yellows' game against the hosts of Euro 2024.
Oleh Kuznetsov (photo: uaf.ua)- All 17 players played well. Only Oleksandr Zinchenko made too many mistakes in the first half. But this can be explained by the fact that he was under tremendous pressure from the Germans, who pressed us almost in the penalty area. In general, I liked the three central defenders the most: Mykola Matvienko, Ilya Zabarnyi and Oleksandr Svatok. But the biggest surprise was that the Ukrainian national team fielded five defenders, three of whom were in the center of defense. It was the first time Serhii Rebrov tried this tactic.
"Yes, we lost in many components, and at the beginning of the match the Germans had 83% of the ball, but this should not be a tragedy. In my opinion, Serhii Rebrov was ready for this and simply told his players to be patient. In fact, he was practicing the tactics for the match against Belgium, as well as for the playoff matches against the giants. Rebrov's task was to set up a competent defense with an emphasis on sharp counterattacks. In the next two matches, we will see more ball control and more positional attacks. And this will actually be preparation for the Euro matches with Slovakia and Romania. In general, the match with the Germans showed that we have no reason to worry. Rebrov has a very large bench. In fact, there is healthy competition in every position. They say that there is no competition for Mudryk's position. I believe that Oleksandr Zubkov and Mykola Shaparenko can play well on the left flank of the midfield," said the Dynamo player.
