Serhiy Kovalets: "The Ukrainian national team is going home, but with its head held high"

Former Dynamo midfielder and current coach and expert Serhiy Kovalets shared his impressions of the Ukrainian national team's performance at Euro 2024.

- I watched the match against Belgium with my friends, it was a game for which I am definitely not ashamed. There was a rotation of the team, there was a noticeable desire. Both the starting lineup and the game plan, in my opinion, justified themselves. The national team started the game with five defenders, because it was opposed by an attack made up of top-level players - Lukaku, De Bruyne, Doku, Trossar.

Perhaps the substitutions should have been made a little earlier. Stepanenko, Malinowski, Zinchenko, Yarmolenko freshened up the game, but there was not enough time. We had our chances, but unfortunately, we couldn't score the goal that would have allowed us to continue our performance at the Euros.

Belgium is one of the best teams in Europe, but it was Ukraine that was closer to victory. We outplayed a strong opponent in terms of chances created. Yaremchuk passed to Dovbyk, although he could have finished with a shot in the corner. Sudakov was close to success, Malinowski was unlucky somewhere...

We are going home, but with our heads held high, because we also scored four points, we fought until the last seconds.

- It turns out that we have to go back to the first failed game with Romania...

- I'll repeat, then there was an underestimation of the opponent. Many wrote that Ukraine and Belgium were the favorites, and Romania was the weakest team in the quartet. This underestimation affected the preparation and setup. And when the game starts, it is very difficult to change anything. Romania started the Euro with high motivation and eventually finished first in the group.

- We did not play a single match with the optimal lineup - can this be an excuse?

- Lineup stability is an important component in football. The basis had to be played in the control matches that preceded the Euro. But there were both objective and subjective reasons. Unfortunately, the chemistry of the starting lineup left much to be desired.

We need to conduct a deep and serious analysis of the work, individual matches, and performances. We have a good, talented team, but we need to prepare and play from the first match.

- Before the Euros, there was a lot of talk that the tournament in Germany was a springboard for our leading players, who could attract attention and sign more lucrative club contracts: Sudakov, Dovbyk, Tsygankov, Lunin, Zinchenko... Can any of our leaders add this tournament to their assets?

- I believe that such moments related to the future club career have a significant impact on the psychological state of the players. But such processes should be controlled by the coaching staff.

Everyone understands what a difficult time our country is going through, and how every successful game has a positive impact.

- This team has been called the strongest ever. As a coach who knows national teams well from the inside, do you agree with this thesis?

- I don't know who said that, but I think it's incorrect in relation to all the national teams that have played and represented our country in various tournaments before. We have good players who play in the top leagues in Europe, but modesty is not a disadvantage, but a plus. The best team is the one that wins titles.

- What's next?

- Of course, the residue of not qualifying for the Euro playoffs remains, but the Ukrainian national team was still able to unite all Ukrainians around the world for a while. Rebrov's team can definitely add two matches to their assets. We have a good team, we have a future.

Anatoliy YASHCHENKO