Famous coach and football expert Oleh Fedorchuk analyzed the performance of each Ukrainian player in the 2-1 match with the Slovak national team for theSbirnawebsite.
Oleg Fedorchuk- Mr. Oleh, congratulations on your victory! Please share your impressions of the match.
- My overall impression is that some players who had previously played leading roles were poorly prepared for the Euros in terms of functionality.
First, it seems to me that we hoped in vain for Sudakov's leadership. He is one of those who did not play with much confidence. Definitely not as expected. Tymchyk's performance also demonstrated that he can be more powerful than Konoplya in this position. Well, and this experiment with Lunin... Today's game showed that the coaching staff made a mistake by not playing Trubin in the previous match.
In general, we leveled the situation. And in psychological terms, the coaching staff did a very good job. Because after conceding a goal, the guys took about 15 minutes to recover, and then played very confidently. It seems to me that Dynamo players look better. We are taking all Dynamo players, which means that they were better prepared for the end of the season. But Shakhtar's players look very insecure in terms of function.
- Ukraine under Rebrov has once again demonstrated its character. What is missing for confident matches?
- In my opinion, as a coach and a player, it's all about our not-so-reliable defense. Because our wingers - Konoplya, Tymchyk, Zinchenko - are more suitable for playing as three central defenders. This is because as defenders, they are a little short of the standards of defenders: both anthropometrically and functionally.
But our two-center back line is not quite reliable. This defense will not be able to withstand such pressure, especially if there are powerful strikers who are taller. Well, you can see a simple combination on the outside, which we lose. Yes, it happened against Germany, Poland, and Romania.
In my opinion, based on the set of players, the three-center back formation suits us best. Yes, with Svatko. We have very powerful and active wings. I think that Zinchenko and Tymchyk would look better if there were three defenders in the center.
But we practically do not play like that, although it happened twice at the last European Championship. There are no prototypes, looking at which one could say: "This is how you should play". It seems to me that we are losing in this. And that's why the instability of the results is primarily due to the instability of the defense.
In the attacking group, we have a choice, a European-level center forward, midfielders, flanks: Tsygankov, Mudryk. As for the defense... Only Zabarnyi is at a high level (keeping in mind Mykolenko, who I hope will recover and play at Euro 2024). Today, the defense was the weakest of all.
Anatoliy Trubin - 7.5
(Sofascore - 7.3, Flashscore - 7.6)
- In my subjective emotional opinion, Trubin is the best player in this match. And perhaps even from both teams. Is there a chance to see Lunin in the match against Belgium? I don't think so, it would be suicide for Rebrov. Anyone can make a mistake, but two mistakes is too much. Trubin should play in the next match, unless he gets sick.
Oleksandr Tymchyk - 7.0
(Sofascore - 6.5, Flashscore - 6.8)
- He played better than Konoplya, but the flaws in the defense in the first 20 minutes were noticeable: split passes, that out on his flank. However, Tymchyk kept the pace so well, and his link-up with Yarmolenko was very annoying for the opponent and eventually gave us an advantage over the Slovaks.
Ilya Zabarnyi - 7.0
(Sofascore - 6.8, Flashscore - 7.4)
- He is the only player who played two games on a par. Zabarnyi is a defender who is more about reliability at the back, and today Ilya made almost no mistakes.
Mykola Matvienko - 6.0
(Sofascore - 6.9, Flashscore - 7.4)
- Today is already better than in the first game. But there is some fuss. I felt that he was very worried about that mistake. I think it was mainly his wrong decisions with the first goal in the match against Romania. Such a pass from such a distance is not given to the goalkeeper, and if it is, it is very risky. It's good that Matvienko played the match against the Slovaks without any gross mistakes.
Oleksandr Zinchenko - 6.0
(Sofascore - 8.2, Flashscore - 8.2)
- I disagree with those who praise his performance today. The assist? That pass was not so much of a goal - it was more for statistics, everything was decided by the previous stages of the goal attack. But the way Oleksandr made a mistake at this level... I don't remember anyone making such tactical mistakes in such tournaments.
The first goal is entirely on his conscience. And it's not even about Zinchenko's height. If you don't have enough centimeters, you play in the body - that's all. Today, in many championships, wingbacks are small in stature, but they act well in such moments.
Volodymyr Brazhko - 6.0
(Sofascore - 7.0, Flashscore - 7.4)
- He played better than Stepanenko. But this is not the Brazhko I expected. Volodymyr himself is very charismatic, a leader with the right characteristics. But in the national team, I think he feels constrained, too restrained. In Dynamo, Brazhko is bold and confident, and this conquers everyone, but here...
Today he looked good, but I expected more. Even his shot from 25 meters. It seemed to me that these balls were made just for Brazko. Perhaps he doesn't know that these balls fly very well?)
Mykola Shaparenko - 7.0
(Sofascore - 8.1, Flashscore - 8.1)
- It seems to me that our team has two soloists. But if you've been to symphony concerts, it's better to have one. Concentration becomes better then. That's why Shaparenko should take over the leadership after this match.
I really liked that Mykola wanted to throw the goalkeeper over. This shows that he is relaxed on the football field. If a footballer decides to do such actions, it means that he is not worried. It was Mykola who scored the turning point, I think. And the assist... Great vision of the field, half the success of the second goal.
Georgii Sudakov - 6.5
(Sofascore - 6.8, Flashscore - 7.3)
- De jure, we expected Sudakov to be the leader of the constructive play, but he hasn't recovered from his injury. I don't know, maybe he'll be better in the future, but right now he played very modestly.
There was little activity from him, little creativity. He was different in that he acted like a false nine, he was very unpredictable. It was difficult to play against him because he was actually a striker from the deep. Nowadays, Sudakov seems to be playing for statistics, while Shaparenko is the opposite.
Andriy Yarmolenko - 6.5 ,
(Sofascore - 7.3, Flashscore - 7.7)
- Yarmolenko... There were players like Roy Keane, our Andriy Bal, Tony Kroos, Marco Royce - those who are responsible for the psychological stability of the team, the aura, if you will. Yarmolenko's rebound was not necessary at all, but he demonstrated his dedication. We made 15 rebounds, while the Slovaks made 2-3. In general, a dribble is a technical exercise that is done extremely rarely, it is very difficult. A few such attempts and you can leave the game. But Andriy sets an example for the other players, he is respected.
I also noticed that today he often let Tymchyk go forward. There is an analogy with Lionel Messi at the last World Cup. Yes, he walked, but without him they would hardly have won the World Cup.
Such authorities can create an atmosphere that allows Brazhko to open up. This is necessary in a sports team, it plays an important role. In general, today Yarmolenko showed the maximum he can give.
Mykhailo Mudryk - 7.0
(Sofascore - 7.7, Flashscore - 7.3)
- This is his best game in recent months in the national team, but there is a drawback. He is too easily read by opponents. Yes, he can keep the pace until the end of the match, but he lacks creativity. For goalkeepers and defenders, he is too predictable, his actions are too banal - it's a pity. But in general, Mykhailo is one of the best in terms of workload today. Today we saw the Mudryk we were waiting to see.
Artem Dovbyk - 6.5
(Sofascore - 6.6, Flashscore - 6.7)
- We want more from him. Artem impressed us so much with his game for Girona that we considered him one of the leaders of this team, our strength. However, today he played very modestly, very little. What's the reason? Girona plays virtuoso football, and Dovbyk himself acts within the penalty area. In matches for the national team, he has a lot of running work, so his legs are not confident.
Dovbyk had a very difficult season emotionally, all the focus was on him. Now we are in difficult negotiations with other clubs. I know that the Premier League is getting involved, which is a very difficult situation. There are also Italian clubs. With Lunin's star load here, he has to make a balanced decision for his career. Of course, Artem is a professional who knows how to distance himself, but still, fatigue and football-related matters are putting pressure on him somewhere.
Roman Yaremchuk - 7.5
(Sofascore - 7.4, Flashscore - 7.6)
- Played 20 minutes - not much, but almost without mistakes. Yaremchuk has been surprising me since the beginning of his career. How hard it was for him at Dynamo, how he was loaned to Oleksandriya. Agents from Belgium called me and asked what kind of player Yaremchuk was. I said, "Take him, he plays very well." They asked me why he didn't play for his club then, and it was Dynamo who saw the situation that way.
It seems to me that Roman is a winner with his intelligence. Based on the fact that his career is not going well at the moment. But he is always motivated and focused in the national team. And how many goals he scored! I didn't really follow him, and today when I found out that he scored more than Rebrov... It was a surprise for me.
The Swiss national team has the same player - Xherdan Shaqiri. His clubs are not doing well either, but he regularly scores for the national team at the World and European Championships. We can say that Yaremchuk is our Shaqiri.
Today there was an attack in which Roman received the ball so well and passed it perfectly to Mudryk, a fantastic hit in the tempo. He is very flexible: he can play as a starter or as a substitute. Not everyone can do this. Therefore, he should be recognized not only for that goal.
- Maksym Taloverov: No rating;
- Serhiy Sydorchuk: Sofascore - 6.5, Flashscore - N/A;
- Alexander Zubkov: Sofascore - 6.5, Flashscore - 7.0;
- Ruslan Malinowski: Sofascore - 6.3, Flashscore - unavailable.
- UEFA recognized Shaparenko as the best player of the match, while our fans awarded Trubin the title of Lion of the Match. Is this a fair result?
- They both deserve the title of the best player. But if I have to choose between the two, I'll go with Trubin. There was such a moment that if the second one would have missed, then that's it...
- What do you know about the Belgian national team? Is it still the favorite of the group?
- This game also determines how Romania and Slovakia will play each other. If they are both satisfied with a draw, they will easily advance. This often happens at European Championships and World Cups. Even great teams play this way to avoid taking risks. We can get out of third place if we take at least one point with the Belgians. Four points should be enough to qualify for the playoffs.
The Belgians underestimated the Slovaks. In that match, there were many nervous episodes for Belgium: dangerous moments, it seemed, 100%, disallowed goals. Their team was psychologically out of sorts. There are matches where the team played well but lost.
I still consider the Belgian national team to be the favorite of the group. Their players are superior in terms of skill and experience. We are worse now than we were in the fall when we played the Italians. The Slovaks are struggling, the Romanians have six attacks and three goals... The Belgians remain the favorite. I think they should beat a team like Romania and forget about it. Even if we were able to pull ourselves together and beat the Slovaks, what can we say about them?
- What is your prediction for the Ukraine vs. Belgium match ?
- I would like to see a productive draw, it should suit everyone.
Oleksandr Shcherbatykh
