Viktor Leonenko: "The left flank of the Ukrainian national team was all very funny. But for some reason I'm not having fun..."

Former Dynamo Kyiv forward Viktor Leonenko shared his impressions of yesterday's match of the 1st round of the Euro 2024 group stage in Group E Romania - Ukraine (3:0).

- We got a pretty good beating. We'll see if it will benefit Rebrov's guys. Otherwise, there is nothing to talk about or analyze the match, because there was no game!

I would like to single out two players of the Ukrainian national team in particular: our blond number 17 (Oleksandr Zinchenko), who read the whole game, but did not actually play, and Kolya Shaparenko, who "gorgeous", in quotation marks, tried to take the ball away during the second conceded goal. Our left side was very funny today. But I'm not having fun. It would be better if the lights were turned off for all of us than to watch such a game. Ukraine scored all the goals against the Moldovans.

- Was the result based on the game or did you just hit everything that came in?

- We brought all three goals to ourselves. Lunin in particular. He forgot that he didn't come out to play for Real Madrid, where you can miss and your teammates will correct your mistake by scoring as many as necessary in response, but for Ukraine.

And I'd also like to say hello to Kolya Matvienko. In a word, everyone is "well done"!

- Before the start of the Euros, it was said that we had the strongest national team since independence. You were one of the skeptics who consistently denied this. Do you have anything to add to your statements now?

- Yes, they praised the current national team: "The best in history, we have to beat everyone" and so on. And what have we got? We swallowed three, confidently so, but there were no chances to score at least a prestige goal.

And the worst thing is that our team had no chances in the attack at all. The first shot on goal in the 77th minute. What's that? Yaremchuk hit the crossbar at the end of the game, and that was it. However, it was such a shot... Roma thought that the Romanian goalkeeper was useless, that he would get it behind his collar. Is that how they play three goals?

"They consider themselves stars, our players. They're starstruck."

- So, you praised Rebrov and his players too much?

- They consider themselves stars, our footballers. They've gone crazy. After such games, I will be interested to see the update of the transfer value of Lunin or Zinchenko.

Before the match against Romania, everyone praised the national team players: from experts to their families, moms and dads. It seems that if the pigeons in my yard could talk, they would praise them, too, but what do they say?

- What do you think of Mykhailo Mudryk's performance? Do you particularly like to single him out...

- He was running. And he ran across. I don't know who teaches him to play like that - numerous Chelsea coaches or Rebrov, but no one has played like that for a long time! They even explain it to children in the children's sports school! But Mudryk, apparently, needs to be explained personally. I need to tell him how to play for at least 30 minutes, because he doesn't understand. The size of a standard field is not enough for him! He's always fucking talking about something.

"We consider pointless ball control to be attacking football. It's strange that Rebrov plays from the defense, having such a lineup."

- Who deserved the title of Lion of the Match today despite the defeat?

- Ilya Zabarnyi made no mistakes, but when three hits, all the defenders are to blame. All 11 players who started played very poorly against Romania.

On the positive side, we controlled the ball well today. But where? On their own half of the field. And it's just pointless ball control. There is zero benefit from this. We consider useless ball control to be attacking football.

It's very strange that Rebrov plays from the defense, having such a lineup. He himself was an offensive player, well, under Shevchenko, but...

- Who can be called the worst player?

- Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, if he watched this game, exhaled. He thought: thank God that Thibaut Courtois recovered. Okay, the first goal was a great shot by Stanciu, but the second! What was that? The ball just flew between Andriy's hands. And it was not a shot from two or three meters.

"I'm sure that all of them, our players, don't give a f*ck that they lost 0-3"

- How much did our chances of reaching the last 16 deteriorate after the loss to Romania?

- You know, in principle, nothing terrible happened, if you don't joke and especially don't criticize Rebrov's team. There are still two games ahead, but! For some reason, I'm sure that all of them, our players, don't give a f*ck that they lost 0-3. Before the match, everyone there was shouting that they would play for the country and the Armed Forces. It turned out badly. Even if you send them to the front, Mudryk, Zinchenko and company, it won't help.

Rebrov is often lucky, he is lucky, but otherwise we could have packed our bags.

- There is a game against Slovakia ahead. There is time to correct mistakes. What are your predictions or expectations?

- There will be a game from the defense, there will be a "Stalingrad". They will look for opportunities in counterattacks. And such tactics are like roulette: lucky or unlucky. You have to take risks.

Slovakia is a very uncomfortable team. However, I'm sure it will be easier for us than with Romania, as they will play on the counterattack, and our team is used to it. Not to act as the first number, which is not something they are used to.

"Nothing changes from match to match. You can't win all the time with luck."

- Shouldn't we take a chance against Slovakia and finally play two forwards?

- Rebrov is like the late Fomenko. He is very cautious. Yes, we need to take risks with the Slovaks and play with two forwards, I agree. But does Ukraine know how to play with two forwards? Do we know how to play attacking football? Because it's good to play when Baboglo actually scores a goal for himself in the second minute (we are talking about the friendly match Moldova - Ukraine - 0:4 - ed.)

- Was it the worst game in the last two years?

- No, it wasn't. In fact, we still had problems with chances. It's just that when the goals are in the nine, the goalkeeper doesn't help out, and Zinchenko is reading newspapers on the wing instead of playing, we have 0: 3, not vice versa. We played like that in all the Euro 2024 qualifiers. The worst thing is that nothing changes from match to match. There are always gross mistakes, and you can't win all the time with luck.

Viktor Hlukhenkyi