Igor Shukhovtsev: "It is not worth blaming Buschan alone for Poland's goals"

Famous Ukrainian goalkeeper Igor Shukhovtsev assessed each of the three goals conceded by the Ukrainian national team in a friendly match with Poland (1:3).

"As for the first goal, there are a few questions about the actions of the defense. They were uncoordinated. This is first of all. Secondly, after the Poles' corner kick, Buschan made a step towards the ball, but at the last moment he did not go further, but stopped. This to some extent disoriented the defenders of the Ukrainian national team, who did not fight properly, because they thought that the goalkeeper would seize the ball or take it away from the goal. That is why they could not react properly to Valukevych, who was striking.

It is clear that at that moment the goalkeeper could have played better, if not for such a close distance. It was too difficult to react to a shot from five meters. Our team would have been lucky in this episode if the ball flew in the direction of the goalkeeper. However, it did not happen. It should be stated: the goal was caused by the inconsistency of the defenders and the goalkeeper, as well as the short distance.

As for the second goal scored by Zielinski, again I would like to refer to the inconsistency of the blue-and-yellow in the game in defense. Counting on his teammate to clear the ball after the Pole's shot, Buschan failed to react when it hit in front of him and flew into the goal. A split second before Malinovskiy wanted to play a header, but the ball only brushed him. This confused both Buschan and Bondar, who should have played the ball. Therefore, I consider it an unnecessary goal for the goalkeeper.

Speaking about the third goal conceded by the Ukraine national team, again I will return to the fact that in this game there was a misunderstanding in our defense. There can be no claims to Buschan on this goal, because Ukrainian Pole (or Polish Ukrainian) Romanchuk header shot from five meters. This is a very difficult ball for any of the goalkeepers, so I believe that there can be no attachment to the goalkeeper. Again: our team did not work properly in defense.

In the process of preparation for the continental championship should not take too much into account the results of friendly matches. After all, they exist for that purpose, so that they can identify the weaknesses and strengths in the overall team game - in particular, to check the level of conditioning of players, chemistry of playing links, to test in action different combinations and determine the readiness of certain players.

Our national team has one more friendly match with Moldova on Tuesday. There is an opportunity to once again thoroughly check the personnel potential, and after that with full concentration to meet the matches of the group tournament of the final part of Euro-2024. We all wish the Ukrainian national team successful games and results in it," Shukhovtsev said.