Oleg Yashchuk: "If not for the failure with Romania, we would have reached the 1/8 finals of Euro 2024"

Former Ukrainian footballer Oleh Yashchuk, who played in Belgium for many years, shared his impressions of the final match of the 3rd round of the Euro 2024 group stage Ukraine - Belgium (0:0) and assessed the performance of the Ukrainian national team at this European Championship.

- Oleg, what were your emotions when you left the stadium in Stuttgart?

- It's a shame that we missed out on the playoffs because of the defeat to Romania, although, if we consider the match against Belgium separately, we looked good. Even Belgium was more disappointing, because before that they didn't look like themselves at all. To be honest, before the match I didn't believe that Ukraine could get 3 points, but our team lacked just a little bit in the final stage - the last pass, the final point. We had our chances, but to win you need to score.

- Didn't it seem to you that Belgium sank mentally towards the end of the game?

- If you saw, the Belgians booed the team. I haven't read the press yet, but I assume there was a lot of negativity. With such a game, Tedesco's men are unlikely to get past France. Belgium was obliged to beat Ukraine, but what they showed in the third round... They won't beat anyone with such a game. Imagine the hype if France were to be knocked out by Belgium like that. Unless they play their best game at this Euro.

- Can the very presence of Ukraine at the Euros in a difficult time be considered an achievement if we remove the inflated expectations?

- We can agree with that, but when we see that Ukraine did not get out of the group with four points... We all thought that Belgium and Ukraine would make the playoffs. If not for the failure with Romania, we would have reached the last 16.

- What do you see as a failure with Romania? You can bite your elbows, realizing the price of defeat.

- This would not have happened if we were 100% charged. I think there was an underestimation. And it so happened that because of this we did not reach the playoffs. It's a shame, but there's no going back. We need to analyze our mistakes and move on. The team has potential.

- Ukraine decided to play with two strikers only in the last game. Should we have done it earlier?

- This is the coach's decision and he is responsible for the result. It's hard to say anything. If there was a result, we wouldn't be talking about it now.

You learn from mistakes to correct them later. In football, you can play without tactics, but if everyone fights on every piece of the field, you have a better chance of getting a positive result.

- Why didn't our young stars manage to show their worth? We expected much more from Mudryk and Sudakov...

- I think that Mudryk and Sudakov got burnt out. This also happens when you really want to play well, because you know what everyone is waiting for. This is just my guess.

- Dovbyk, who had a great season at Girona, didn't score a single goal, while Yaremchuk can get a good offer with one goal in Slovakia. You, as a striker, definitely have something to say.

- Dovbyk raised the bar of expectations after his season in Spain. Maybe Artem didn't show anything at the Euros because of burnout, and Roma worked hard. Yaremchuk was waiting for his chance to remind us of himself, and Dovbyk could have had enough. A striker should always be hungry, looking for his moment.

- To what extent can Yaremchuk's performance at the Euros help him in his future employment?

- I've heard that Brugge have no plans to leave Roma. He showed himself well. I hope that some clubs will be interested in him.

- Despite the unsuccessful result, can the rest of the national teams count on offers from other clubs?

- No matter who comes for a player, clubs may not let him go if the offer is not satisfactory.

- Did Rebrov's performance after the Euros give grounds to talk about his replacement?

- The result is very important for every coach. Rebrov has shown in more than one team that he is a good specialist. There is no reason to talk about changing the coach just because Ukraine did not come out with 4 points.

- How would you generally assess Ukraine's performance at the Euro?

- You always have to look for the positive, especially at a time like this. I would say that in the second half against Slovakia and the match against Belgium, the team showed that they can play with any opponent when they want to. This should inspire the players for further growth. We have a very good selection of players who will move forward with the experience they have gained.

Oleksandr Karpenko