Former Zorya head coach Patrick van Leeuwen spoke about today's match between Ukraine and Belgium at Euro 2024.
Patrick van Leeuwen (photo: shakhtar.com)- The main thing in the match against Belgium will be the team spirit, which Ukraine had problems with at the beginning of the tournament. Players need to leave their egos behind and think about the result of the national team, not personal success. Much has been said about the honor of the country, but are these players ready to die on the field not only in words?
I think the basic formation will be a compact 5-4-1, as it was against the Germans. Plan B is a 4-2-4 formation with two high flanks, more vertical play and crosses to the wingers with Dovbyk and Yaremchuk on the edge. Much depends on the wingers, who must have time to return to the second third in case of losses, so as not to lose compactness, and then run into space again. And all this at maximum pace. We need to use the best qualities of leaders.
Plus, it is imperative to use depth through the use of insights. For example, the way Sudakov did when he scored against Barcelona in the Champions League in the fall. Ukraine's forwards should also look for space behind the defenders: at least I always ask my attacking players to play not only on the ball but also to open up properly between the lines and outside the defenders.
If these conditions are realized, Ukraine will definitely have a chance to win. The Belgians will take risks-they don't know how to play differently. They still think they have a great winning generation of players. In fact, they have a very high-quality and dangerous attack, plus De Bruyne's assists. But the defense... There are enough problems there," TaToTake quoted the specialist as saying.
