The most stable version of the Ukrainian national team

In fact, the current Ukrainian national team is very stable. It has two distinctive features, which are consistently and without fail in official matches (and at different stages of the tournament) and in friendlies, and which predetermine the performance of the team.

Trait one. On the one hand, this national team knows how to take "its points" in matches against opponents of its own level or lower (previously we lacked this very much and for a very long time, any loss of points with Albania and Malta cost a lot) - in the qualifying group of Euro-2024 it took the maximum of such points (twice defeated all opponents except England and Italy). But on the other hand, this national team takes "its points" tendentiously on validol, on the verge, on the tape.

Everyone made a great plus and positive out of it: "look how many kambeks", "the national team has character" and so on. But it is not a plus if such things happen on the stream, but just a game of roulette. If only for the reason that soccer itself is a game, and it does not give any guarantees based on character, calculations and so on. Roulette. Which ended in the match with Romania.

With North Macedonia we "got out" with 0:2, with Malta, Bosnia, Iceland - with 0:1. With such a tendency, these are no longer cambecs, but alarm signals in bright red color, and if there are so many of them, it follows that no conclusions are made. Although, how can you make them, if all these fans of groundless bravado and slogans in the style of "we are the strongest of all" blow sweet speeches in the ears of the players and coaches about gambles and character. However, fate still took Ukraine very carefully and on the example of the friendly match with Poland (1:3) clearly demonstrated how all these "kambeks-character" can end. At any moment. But there was no reaction either: "we played well, we had chances", "and anyway, it's just a friendly match". Okay. If it's just a friendly, then here's just Romania.

Why is this happening? Well, if a team consistently demonstrates (after conceding a goal(s)) that it can successfully play against such opponents, then it's a matter of psychology and attitude. There is a strong suspicion that the players (and maybe the coaches too) have been out of touch with reality for a long time, overestimating their capabilities, their personal potential, the team's potential and their importance. Again, it is difficult to avoid such a thing when you are praised at every corner, singing dithyrambs about character, camber, about the best version of the national team in history, about the cosmic level of players in its squad and so on. And so it turns out that after such sweet songs the team goes to the match against North Macedonia with an underlying feeling and even belief that the cosmic level of the players will do everything by itself.

Do you know what phrase was aired in the 1st minute of the TV broadcast of the match between Romania and Ukraine? Literally it was: "Ukraine's team starts its way to the top of European soccer!". And do you know what was heard on the same air when Romania started to make the game? Again verbatim: "It's great to see the supervisor with the m'yacha near our penalty box."

This is not even a break from reality, it is absolute prostration! And if this happens at every step, then, of course, the players will have a subconscious feeling that they are also starting their way to the top of European soccer and are one step away from the Euro final. In which, of course, they can win.

Trait two. This team cannot (at least not yet) beat top teams. Just objectively. Yes, it sometimes lacks just a little bit in such matches to win, but if you strategically bet on a little bit in your favor, it's as utopian as the story with the gambles. We need a different level, and the current level is not enough for the Ukrainian national team. Therefore, in matches with England, Italy and Belgium our maximum was draws. With Germany, by the way, too, even though it is a friendly match. In short, all this also looks like a trend.

But those two hallmarks left us with a great chance at Euro 2024 in a group with Belgium, Romania and Slovakia. Take "your points" against Romania and Slovakia (trait number one) and you won't even need trait number two in the Belgium match. Great plan! A real plan! But only if two conditions are met: firstly, debunking the sweet myth about camber, and, secondly, stopping the idiotic bravado from all irons about the strongest Ukrainian national team in history, about its great prospects at this Euro and its imminent success. Fulfillment of these simple conditions would certainly help to "ground" the team, to bring it as close to reality as possible. But unfortunately, neither of these two conditions was fulfilled.

And Romania again had players of cosmic level. First of all, of course, came the top scorer of the Spanish championship. This status was talked about non-stop. But I have not figured out how you can link such a status of an individual performer with the prospects of the team in a particular match. And even when we are not talking about the team in which this status of the top scorer was acquired.

There have been others from outer space - the Real Madrid goalkeeper, for example. Also just the status of one player who was tied to the team's prospects. And also came out fantastically expensive players, generally arrived from another galaxy - one costs invented 100 million euros, another - the same invented 70 million euros (or for what amount there it is now PR, even stopped watching - it will be interesting to know only who will be next to Chelsea in the role of a fool).

In short, the Ukrainian national team once again stepped on their favorite rake called "bring it to a flounder". Only this time it was not possible to get out of this situation. And everything turned out to be a real disaster. Because the game of roulette always ends sooner or later. Unless you realize it's a game of roulette and think it's character and gambles.

And then it's time for the cruelest heath to the Ukrainian national team. But I am absolutely sure that the fact that the Ukrainian national team managed to take four points at Euro 2024 is a huge merit of Ukrainian fans and media. They gave the space players exactly the flogging that managed to ground them and bring them back to reality. Yes, the Ukraine national team came to the match against Slovakia a little "shrivelled" after such an exorcism, but it was a completely different team!

If there had not been this heath, this flogging, and there was a snotty song called "we have to support the team", I am sure that the team from outer space would have come to the match with three points in their pocket before the start of the game.

But, unfortunately, the effect was enough for a very short time. Because after the match with Belgium, the striker of the Ukrainian national team said: "we proved that what happened with Romania was an accident".

And with North Macedonia was probably an accident, too. And with Malta. And with Poland. And with Bosnia.

It follows that no conclusions have been drawn anyway. And we should be mentally prepared for the fact that history may repeat itself in the next tournament. Unless we still do not make these very simple conclusions! Conclusions that when several consecutive identical coincidences occur, it is a diagnosis and treatment is necessary.

Except that I don't understand the attacks on Rebrov in this whole story. Absolutely. Yes, he is responsible for the results, for the performance of the team as a whole at the Euros. Yes, perhaps, he himself caught overconfidence after 1:1 with England in the Euro-2024 qualifying and did not pay enough attention to all those alarm bells with Northern Macedonia, Bosnia, Iceland, when we "chewed out".

But, first of all, he solved the problem of getting the team to Euro 2024. He did! And brought happiness to Ukrainian fans. Or should I remind the emotions after the victory over Iceland in the final of the qualification playoffs?

Secondly, in terms of building the game, the ability to motivate the team in the course of the match, the ability to make timely and bold substitutions (which often turned out to be effective and made the result!), the ability to find unexpected solutions (like the game with Belgium with 5 defenders and 2 forwards!), what questions can there be to him? And most importantly: who, if not Rebrov, can be entrusted with the national team NOW to make it better? Well, only if, of course, to consider real options for us, unless you consider that Guardiola and Alonso do not sleep at night, but only waiting for them to be given to coach the national team of Ukraine. Who? Specifically. Names.

We have done nothing for our soccer. For years. Decades. The efforts of individual clubs don't count. We created nothing, but tried our best to exploit what we had. Milking even when what we had was a pittance. So what are we waiting for? What Euro playoffs? Why all of a sudden? What other coaches? Where are they? Where do they come from all of a sudden? Just from the fact that someone got a coaching license?

I am sure that Rebrov had exactly one miscalculation - in the psychological plane. He missed, and more than once, that his team became cosmic and detached from reality. And that is why, match after match, they did not start playing from the first minutes and got goals. The way they played against Belgium was great. The fact that we played with Belgium from the first minute is twice as great. But the problem is that such psychology should be in all other matches. Without any kambeks. And then the match with Belgium in terms of tournament significance would mean nothing at all - we would have solved everything with Romania and Slovakia. If this problem is solved, everything will happen!

Alexander POPOV