Igor Plastun: "This Belgium is no longer the team that is considered the favorite of the Euro"

Former Ukraine defender Ihor Plastun told us what he expects from the match of the 3rd round of the Euro 2024 group stage in Group E Ukraine - Belgium.

- The first two rounds of our group and Euro 2024 in general have shown that making any predictions is a thankless task. However, if I were to express my opinion, I would call the distribution of chances of victory in the Ukraine-Belgium match a classic 50-50 split.

On paper, Belgium is the favorite, but Serhiy Rebrov's team will definitely have chances, and if they realize them, they have all the prerequisites to win. Ukraine has repeatedly shown that it can play well against really great teams, such as Italy or England, and Belgium, with all due respect, is not such a great team. The Ukrainians have long been not afraid of anyone, but try to play their own football.

- The outcome of the match with Belgium is 99.9 percent dependent on whether Ukraine will make it to the last 16 of the Euros. With this in mind, we probably need to expect Serhii Rebrov to have five players in defense. Do you share this point of view?

- I think so. However, it is very difficult to answer this question in the most substantive way, because this is Serhii Rebrov's competence. Whom to entrust a place in the starting lineup, which game model to choose...

I do not rule out the possibility that we will indeed see a scheme similar to the one we had in the friendly against Germany, that is, with five defenders. Then Ukraine showed that it knows how to play for the result, but 0:0 with Belgium will not help us much.

- Will Dovbyk, Mudryk and company withstand the psychological pressure? For many players of this national team, which has already been christened the best since independence, the game against Belgium will be perhaps the most important in their careers.

- All this hype around the Ukrainian national team, that this generation is the best and strongest, was made by journalists, experts, and fans (we recall that in fact, the first to talk about the strongest Ukrainian national team in history was footballer Andriy Yarmolenko - ed.)

- But these statements were based on something, right?

- The main reason for these conclusions, in my opinion, is that over the past couple of years, a lot of our guys have actually played in Europe. They really started to play: in the Premier League (Zinchenko, Mykolenko, Zabarnyi, Mudryk), in La Liga (Dovbyk, Tsygankov, Yaremchuk), and in the Italian Serie A (Ruslan Malinowski).

Previously, we had three or four players who played in the leading championships of the old world, and now almost every second player in Serhii Rebrov's team represents a club in the top 5 European leagues, and a pretty strong club at that!

- That's why they have such requirements and expectations.

- For some reason, fans think that if we have Zinchenko from Arsenal, Mykolenko from Everton, Dovbyk and Tsygankov from Girona, then Ukraine is already a top team at the level of Italy... This is not so. This team, this generation, I am sure, has a great future, but we need to give them time.

For some reason, fans forget that the Slovak national team has had its leading players playing abroad for decades. There's no need to talk about Belgium, as almost everyone there is not from the domestic league. And Romania has quality players from Europe. All the national teams have learned to play a long time ago. Everyone is extremely motivated for the Euros. You can't beat anyone with names.

You can't demand that the Ukrainian national team play at the level of Germany or Spain, because in these countries the football system, the philosophy of winners, if you will, has been built up over decades.

- Will a defeat against Belgium be a disaster or a natural outcome?

- I don't even want to think about it, because I believe in our team, I believe in victory. I am sure that our guys will do everything in their power to defeat Belgium and make it to the last 16. Now in Germany there are really 26 best players of our country.

- There is a lot of discussion now about who Rebrov will entrust to the last line of his team: Andriy Lunin, who failed in the game against Romania, or Anatoliy Trubin, who played very well against Slovakia. Who is your favorite?

- I think Anatoliy should start again. Trubin played well against Slovakia, several times he really helped the blue and yellows from the second conceded goal. He kept us in the game, as they say.

- There is also a lot of talk that it would be nice to see the duo of strikers Yaremchuk and Dovbyk finally play together, rather than watching them play one by one. Will Rebrov risk playing two forwards against Belgium?

- This question is more complicated. You know, even if Ukraine plays with five defenders, it is possible to play with two forwards. In general, the Yaremchuk-Dovbyk pair looks very threatening. Roma and Artem have already demonstrated that they have a very good interaction between them, remember at least the game against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the playoffs for Euro 2024 (2: 1, Dovbyk scored the decisive goal from Yaremchuk's pass - ed.)

Yaremchuk, I noticed, moves well, he is mobile and helps a lot in defense. In the match against Slovakia, Roma also showed that he is very flexible for his size. The second goal was 90 percent the result of his individual skill, despite a great pass from Shaparenko.

- Dovbyk is still silent at the Euros. That is, he is not scoring. Will Artem break through in the game against Lukaku and company?

- Anything is possible. So far, we see that he plays a lot for the team and it's not very right to demand goals from him in every game. He played only two matches at the Euros, not twenty. He has been well studied by the opponents, Dovbyk is under increased attention. With a little luck, Artem will score, and I hope he will do so in the game against Belgium.

- Let's talk about the Belgian national team. Who can you personally single out from Domenico Tedesco's team?

- Of course, Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, and Jérémy Dock. There is no need to think too much here.

Personally, I would still single out Doku from Manchester City. He is a very high-quality striker. If Jérémy is allowed to run wild, if he catches his game, it will not be good for Ukraine. He is a strong player in a one-on-one game. It is sometimes difficult to stop him without breaking the rules.

And the potential of Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne, their skills are known to everyone who follows football - world-class players who need to be neutralized.

- Slovakia's players succeeded in doing so, while the Romanians did not. What do you think of the performance of Domenico Tedesco's team at Euro 2024?

- Belgium has not yet impressed and does not look invincible. The explanation for this is quite simple. As I said, they are going through a generational change. This process, like it or not, affects the team's play and results. Without Azar and Courtois, this is not the same team that is considered a Euro favorite.

- What is the secret of success against the Belgians? What is your "cheat sheet" for the Ukrainian national team?

- To beat Belgium, you need to play with your own trump cards: be mobile, well-coordinated, and prevent a gap between the lines.

- A prediction from Ihor Plastun.

- I think and believe that Ukraine will win. I'm betting on 1-0 in favor of Serhiy Rebrov's team.

Viktor Glukhenkyi