Former football player and coach Oleksandr Kucher commented on the outcome of the first round of the Nations League match between the Ukrainian national team and the Albanian team (1-2) in an interview withUF.
Oleksandr Kucher (photo: scdnipro1.com.ua)- Oleksandr, did you expect Ukraine to lose to Albania?
- Of course, everyone who knows football understood that Albania is a very difficult team. This is no longer an outsider team in European football. Let's just recall how they played at the Euros: a 2-2 draw with Croatia and defeats with minimal differences from Spain (0-1) and Italy (1-2).
But I will say this: I did not expect a repeat of the Romanian syndrome. I didn't think that Ukraine would lose again to an opponent that is lower in class and player selection, with all due respect to Albania.
I was surprised by the indifference of our players in the first half. I didn't see any desire or thirst for victory in our players.
- So the reason for the fiasco was lack of motivation ?
- I can't answer unequivocally. However, we played poorly on set pieces again. I'm talking about the first goal, first of all, and in general, the Ukrainians lost many combats yesterday. Team actions in defense again leave much to be desired... These are the main reasons for the defeat, I think.
Or the result of the game? Probably yes, because we lost. I see no point in making excuses. Ukraine led 1-0, and if we had played more strictly in defense, realized our other chances, and they were not one hundred percent, but they were there, we would have celebrated the victory.
- Rebrov again threw the second forward, Vladyslav Vanat, into the fray, when, as they say, the roast rooster pecked at one place. Yes, we didn't have Dovbyk, but couldn't we have played with two strikers?
- In principle, I would not criticize Rebrov, because, as you said yourself, he could not count on Dovbyk, and Vanat and Yaremchuk were not very well played. Albania usually starts all matches very well, trying to press, attack, and act aggressively from the first minutes. Perhaps this is also why Rebrov came out for the game with one striker.
And, let's not forget that yesterday we didn't have Mudryk either, and without Mykhailo there were almost no flank shots. Yes, Viktor Tsygankov played well. Vladyslav Kabayev looked on a par, but he is a Dynamo debutant in the national team and, again, the issue here is the lack of chemistry.
- As for tactics, there were four, not five nominal defenders, as against Germany or Belgium. Do you have any questions or complaints about the actions of Mykolenko, Zabarnyi and the company?
- I wouldn't single out any anti-hero of the match in general and among the defenders in particular. They tried to play by players, to protect them, but in the situation with the second goal, who was supposed to hold Yasir Asani? Konoplya, probably, if you look at the positioning of the players. But he was left alone and shot Trubin. Ukraine opened up, ran, gave the opponent space and got it.
At the very beginning of Albania's goal combination, when they scored for the second time, there was some confusion. We couldn't rebuild quickly in defense, lost the player who shot (Rey Manai). And the Albanians played like clockwork.
- Yesterday, from the first minutes, Anatoliy Trubin played on the last line. However, he suffered an injury not long ago. Shouldn't you have given a chance to Heorhiy Bushchan, who played very well for Dynamo at the beginning of the season?
- I have no questions about Trubin's performance. He could have helped out, perhaps, but he is definitely not to blame for both goals conceded. Why did Rebrov entrust him with a place in the squad? I think that he relied on Anatolii because he has trusted him since Euro 2024, where he played two matches very well (Slovakia 2-1, Belgium 0-0).
Trubin has healed his injury, so why not play him? He also played the last match for Benfica before being called up to the national team, playing all 90 minutes on the field. If there were any doubts about his fitness or the risk of injury recurrence, then Bushchan would probably have played.
- Who would you call the best in the national team of Ukraine in the match against Albania?
- No one. We lost the match and there are questions for everyone. I don't want to single anyone out, and I don't want to criticize too much either.
- Yesterday, in the center of the field, the Shaparenko-Sudakov duo was a creative duo , but I didn't notice any creativity from the Dynamo player and the Shakhtar representative.
- Again, I repeat, the Albanians played strictly and aggressively. Shaparenko and Sudakov were simply not allowed to play, to run and deploy. I'm sure that Albania's coach Silvigno pointed out to his players, both Mykola and Georgii, that they should be especially vigilant. They neutralized our central midfielders. Yes, they were looking for the ball, trying to create something, but somehow it was all monotonous.
- Ahead of Ukraine is a game against the Czech Republic, which was quite unexpectedly and easily crushed by Georgia yesterday (1:4). Something tells me that Ivan Hashek's team will be highly motivated on Tuesday.
- Of course they will. In front of their own fans, the Czechs will try to redeem themselves for the defeat against Georgia, so I expect a very difficult game on Tuesday. The Czechs are very physically strong. They practice the so-called vertical football. They play well on standards. The Czech Republic will be a fierce, evil beast on Tuesday.
And the fact that many fans are criticizing Rebrov now is understandable: the team wins, the coach loses. This truth has never been canceled. But I am sure that Serhiy will have a serious conversation with the guys, analyze the mistakes and draw the right conclusions - both he and his wards.
Viktor Glukhenkyi
