"Football 24discusses the third round match of Euro 2024 Ukraine - Belgium (0:0) with Eduard Tsykhmeystruk, a former player of the national team.
Eduard Tsikhmeystruk- Eduard, during the Ukraine-Belgium match in Kyiv, for some reason, the electricity supply schedules were changed by district. Did you manage to watch the match?
- The schedules did not change for me. They didn't plan to turn on the electricity and didn't. I prepared in advance, found a bar where the match was broadcast. So I watched the game in the company of noisy fans.
- I had to worry, especially at the end of the match, when Malinowski and Sudakov did not use their chances.
- We were unlucky this time. Although the decisive game was not against Belgium. Yes, the tournament situation required the Ukrainian team to be more active and aggressive, which the team showed. But we lost the group tournament in the match against Romania in the first round. You can't lose 0-3 at this level. Moreover, the opponent was, as they say, a tough match. It wasn't the tournament favorite we were facing, but an average team. And in general, there were only four matches at the European Championships where defeats were recorded with a large score. In the rest of the matches, it was an even fight. Apparently, there was a certain underestimation of the opponents. For which we paid the price.
- But the team was able to find opportunities to remedy the situation. All the teams have the same number of points.
- They tried to catch up and, here the team can be praised, they got their way. But it makes no sense. If it wasn't for the big defeat against Romania, but at least 0:1, we would be celebrating now, and the same Romanians would be packing their bags for home.
- Be that as it may, the Ukrainian national team played at a fairly high level in the last round.
- Yes, there was aggression and discipline. We managed to level the trump cards of the leading Belgian players, running out on counterattacks ourselves. Everyone understood: it was either win or lose. There were opportunities to strengthen the game. We must not forget that Belgium also acted with an eye to the scoreboard. After all, in case of defeat, it would leave the European Championship. Therefore, the opponent paid due attention to defense. In this situation, our team, as we can see, did not have enough resources to win.
- If at least one of Dovbyk, Malinowski or Sudakov's attempts had reached the goal...
- You also watched the match in a bar, so you know what was happening there during the dangerous moments at the Belgian goal. Some of the fans at the tables were having real hysteria. It remains to state the fact: we had to play like that from the first match. The guys can only have complaints to themselves.
- I still want to somehow praise the national team. We scored 4 points in the company of quite strong teams. Croatia was also eliminated, and Slovenia made it to the playoffs with 3 points. The Ukrainian national team is not the worst at the Euros.
- We are athletes, we understand that now these 4 points are for statistics. They have no weight. We took last place in the group and left the European Championship.
- What does it mean that Serhii Rebrov changed the lineup in every game?
- He was looking for the best possible lineup. It's good that Mykolenko managed to recover more or less, but he didn't play the full match. The injury, apparently, is making itself felt. Of course, I was surprised by the appearance of a couple of strikers. Dovbyk and Yaremchuk are similar players in terms of their style of play. Then Vanat came on, Malinowski, who has an accentuated shot, came on, and Yarmolenko came on. These are attacking players. Rebrov really wanted to win, he changed his tactics during the game. But this time he was unlucky to score.
- In your opinion, did you miss Mudryk and Tsygankov?
- I don't know the reasons why they didn't play. Perhaps they were injured, or there are other reasons. Of course, the team lost some speed in the transition from defense to attack. On the other hand, you still need to be able to use speed. You can run away from everyone and not know what to do with that speed. We changed the tactical formation, and it worked.
- The national team left the Euros early. Perhaps now Ruslan Rotan, the coach of the Olympic team, will breathe a sigh of relief. The players who are qualified by age will rest and be able to play in Paris.
- There are so many factors: some club coaches won't let players go - the season in the English Premier League was tough, and they also have their own preparations for the season, some will be playing in European Cup qualifiers at this time, some need to heal injuries. I think there is good communication between the coaching staffs of the national and Olympic teams. We need to take into account all the nuances - physical readiness, motivation, etc. Those players who have a strong desire to make a name for themselves should go to the Olympics.
Gennadiy Chekhovsky
