Maksym Shatskikh: "When the pass was made to Yaremchuk, I, like Rebrov, thought that the ball would not reach him"

Former Dynamo forward Maksym Shatskikh analyzed the game of the Ukrainian national team at Euro 2024.

- What are your impressions after Ukraine's two matches at Euro 2024?

- I think there might have been a little underestimation with Romania. It was in vain that they started singing before the game that we were such great guys. It is difficult for me to talk about such things because there are no weak opponents in major tournaments. There are days when the opponent is flying at everything, but we couldn't even create anything at their goal. For each episode, each roll, the Romanians were emotionally wound up. Our team could not recover.

I said before the tournament that there would be surprises.

As for Slovakia, Rebrov managed to find the optimal combination of players and thank God we pressed on. I think that after Romania, the players realized everything themselves. There was nowhere to go. They had to go out and win. Behind them is a great country that is going through hard times. We had to go out and show something. It helped us to gather our spirits and everyone else.

- Why can't Ukraine, having a good selection of players, play from a position of strength?

- Don't forget that the team is really good, but they are all young. It is clear that the guys are represented in good championships, but they have not gained enough experience to fully control the game. An example is France, which played unconvincingly against the Netherlands (0:0).

- Do you agree that Trubin's saves at the start of the game against Slovakia helped our players gain confidence?

- It is very important when the goalkeeper leads the process. The defenders feel much more confident.

- It turns out that it is easier for Lunin to interact with Real Madrid stars than with his own?

- Lunin himself admitted that those two goals were on his conscience, but you shouldn't hang all the dogs on Andriy either. There was enough time to fix everything. And Real Madrid is Real Madrid.

- And what about Shaparenko, who is not a stranger to you, who scored a goal and an assist against Slovakia?

- Any effective action gives a player confidence in his abilities. And with Belgium, Kolya will generally fly around the field. Yes, the first half hour, like the rest of the team, I suffered, but what happened later speaks for itself.

In a fast-paced tournament, even such details make a big difference in terms of mentality.

- As a former striker, you probably have something to say about Yaremchuk's performance...

- Roma is a great striker. Maybe his profile is different from Dovbyk's, but Yaremchuk has good technique. A video of Rebrov's reaction to this episode, when only Kolya's [Shaparenko] pass went viral on all social networks. Stanislavovych thought that the ball would not reach Yaremchuk, and then the emotions on his face changed. To be honest, I thought the same thing about myself. Roma turned on top speed.

- Did Yaremchuk deserve to start in Belgium with this goal? Surely he will have a double motivation to prove that he was written off in vain in Benfica, Valencia and Bruges?

- I am sure that Roma is now focused not on club matters, but on his national team and the European Championship. And all these transfer stories will come later. He has reasons to go out from the first minutes.

- Belgium defeated Romania 3-0 and before the last round all four teams have 3 points. Should we rely only on ourselves?

- We have to go out and do our job. Look at ourselves and prepare for Belgium. For some players of the golden generation, this is the last chance to win something with the national team.

Oleksandr KARPENKO