Former Ukraine midfielder Yevhen Levchenko shared his prediction for the Blue and Yellows' match against Belgium at Euro 2024.
Yevhen Levchenko (photo: instagram.com)- "With all due respect to Romania and Slovakia, but with our selection of players, the Blue and Yellows should defeat these rivals. It was only in the second half of the game against the Slovaks that we saw the Ukrainian team we want to see. Serhii Rebrov's men outperformed the opponent not only in desire and speed, but also, and very importantly, in the fight.
The match against Romania? It was a complete failure. I was unpleasantly surprised not even by the performance of our national team, but by the fact that the team did not react to the successful actions of the opponent. Although, of course, personal mistakes and the quality of the game itself looked pathetic.
I want to pay tribute to the coaching staff of the national team of Ukraine. The coaches made qualitative changes both in the starting lineup and during the match against Slovakia, which gave us a chance to stay in the game. Although the first half hour was alarming: our team seemed to be looking closely at the opponent, practically not threatening their goal.
It seems to me that many players of the national team of Ukraine are clamped down, the fear of making a mistake constrains their actions. Again, we need to try to abstract from everything and play our best football.
What do you expect from the match against Belgium? I really hope that we don't press too hard against our goal, because the Belgians have players who can make a goal out of nothing. If we manage to shut down important opposition players such as De Bruyne, Tielemans, Lukaku and others, everything can work out.
I believe that the Ukrainian national team has not yet shown its full potential. I want the match against Belgium to be the best for the Blue and Yellows in the group stage of the European Championship. We can win at least a minimal victory. The score of 1:0 or 2:1 in our favor is not important," Levchenko said.
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