Yuriy Kulish: "I wouldn't put two national team players in the first team. There are no worse in our first league"

Yuriy Kulish, a midfielder for Chornomorets in 1980-1990, commented on the performance of the Ukrainian national team at Euro 2024.

- "It is wrong to slander the coach and make him the only one to blame. After all, it was not Serhiy Rebrov who was on the field, but the players. And do not think that I am saying this because there is some kind of coaching solidarity. No, in this case it's not about that at all. In order to know what may be the reason for the failure of our national team, you need to know the situation from within the team. And without knowing this for sure, we should not be guided by rumors and believe in gossip. We played the way we played. We simply lost the first match of the European Championship. When I saw the team's lineup, there were a lot of things that were not clear. Personally, as a coach, I would not have put two players in the "base". I won't mention their names - I'm talking about those who dropped out of the game in the match against the Romanians. These are two leading players, but in the above-mentioned game they played to save the ball, not demonstrating their true level. Passing the ball back, across the field and saving it - this is not the way to play at the national team level. There are players in our first league who would have played just as well. This speaks volumes and is only a disadvantage to the team.

In the matches against Slovakia and Belgium, our team managed to pull together and generally played good football. I rejoiced in the victory over the Slovaks, clapped my hands in the meeting with the Belgians. In these matches, the Ukrainian national team proved that it can play the way we all expect it to. And if it had managed to get out of the group, I am sure that with Rebrov's appropriate adjustments, our team could have reached the quarterfinals. It would have been within our power. But, unfortunately, I am sorry to say, the first game at Euro 2024 ruined everything for Ukraine. There are no trifles in football. And any coach knows this. Another thing is the players, who constantly have to be reminded of this, urging them to do what is required of them. But there are those who do not listen and play the way they want. All this can be seen on the field. This is where the problems come from," the expert said.