On Friday, June 21, the Ukrainian national team defeated Slovakia 2-1 in the second match of Euro 2024, which took place in Dusseldorf. Here is the post-match press conference of the teams' head coaches.
Serhii Rebrov (photo: uefa.com)Serhiy REBROV, head coach of the Ukrainian national team:
- I am very happy for the players. I can't say that we played very badly against Romania. We lost in certain important components, but I can't say that it was a different team. Today we showed a different spirit and deserved to win. We earned three points, now we need to focus on the next game, but it was a very important victory for our country, for our players, and for the fans. I am sure they are proud of the players today.
We play games in three days, and recovery plays a very important role. It is difficult to change some positions, to understand who should be in the starting lineup. But I am grateful to all the players who took the field today, they deserved this victory. Now it is important to recover for the next match.
Did Mykola Shaparenko have a bad first half? UEFA recognized him as the best player of the match, he scored a goal and worked for the team. Yes, Shaparenko did not score in the first half, but we were more defensive then. After the break, we drew conclusions and changed the model of defense a bit. Therefore, in the second half we had many more chances.
Mykhailo Mudryk played the second match in a row, he is a very fast player. Even in the first match, he had problems at the end. With the score 2-1, we had fresh players to defend, so I made a substitution. I am grateful to Mykhailo because he gave his all on the field.
During the break, I did not shout at the players. Of course, we made some mistakes when we conceded the goal. We had to react in the second half. Unfortunately, we did not press high enough. We realized that this was our chance. I told the players not to worry about the score and to go forward, to show their best. I'm glad they did it.
As for the goalkeeping position, I am pleased that we have good competition. Anatoliy Trubin also deserved to play against the Romanians, but I chose Andriy Lunin, and I am happy with this choice, no matter what happened. Usually, teams have one main goalkeeper. But Trubin deserved to play today because of his performance in the friendly with Germany. He showed that he was very calm and helped us out. Yes, Lunin played the last game, Trubin came out today, but they both fight, train hard and deserve to play.
Georgiy Sudakov's performance? As you saw, today we had the youngest team at the Euros. Many players of our national team have a good future. But, of course, young guys are not always stable, they cannot show the top level in every match. In both matches, Sudakov gave us a lot of energy on the field, he understands football well. He worked hard and helped the team. He can cover several positions, which is very important.
This European Championship is the first for many of our players. Of course, there is Andriy Yarmolenko, who is playing his fourth tournament. As I said, we have a very young team. They haven't played at this level with a packed stadium, which is difficult mentally. We lost the last match, but we had to concentrate on the next one, show a different level and spirit. I cannot say that in the game against Romania the players did not understand where they were and who they represented. But this is football. Therefore, it is important that we showed a different game today and deserved three points.
This is a very emotional game. I went into the locker room and saw that the guys didn't even have the strength to celebrate, because they gave everything on the field. Today they will probably celebrate a little bit, but tomorrow we have to prepare for Belgium.
As for the tactics, we were fighting for three points. Unfortunately, today in the first half we did not press very well. Our plan was to create more chances, to send more balls into the penalty area. We scored the second goal thanks to a forward pass. The Euro is a fast-paced tournament, so you have to react quickly. I think we reacted well after the first game. We created more chances because we showed more desire to create them. So it's not just ball control that's important - I don't know what it was like today. Football is about scoring, about how many chances you create.
Франческо Кальцона (фото: uefa.com)Francesco CALZONA, head coach of the Slovak national team:
- It was a tough match. I am satisfied with some moments, others less so. I am satisfied with the team. I can't blame them. The opponents have excellent qualities, Ukraine is 20 places ahead of us in the FIFA rankings.
Today we played against a very strong opponent. I am proud of my guys. We gave the opponent the last 30 minutes of the match, and we were punished for it.
We had the opportunity to book a place in the playoffs now, but we faced a team that needed a win to stay in the game.
