Former Dynamo Kyiv striker Ivan Shariy shared his impressions of the match of the 1st round of the 2024/25 Nations League Ukraine vs Albania (1:2).
Ivan Shariy- I will say this: it is unpleasant to lose the starting matches, especially in tournaments such as the Nations League, - the specialist is convinced. - This is a wake-up call for Sergei Rebrov. The defeat against the Albanians seems to indicate the attitude of the players to their duties: the European Championship is no longer an irritant for them, and the Nations League too. Consequently, I can not understand: it seems that the Ukrainian national team has all the playing people, a large number of whom play in Europe in quite strong national championships, but at the very start of the new tournament it loses to Albania.
Yes, the Albanian national team in general is not a bad team, and in yesterday's match it played well. But this is not Spain, Italy, France or England. Somehow it happens that against such strong teams we come out and puff, but we lose to Albania. Then our national team will face Czech Republic and Georgia, so at least not to lose to them. And later not to start falling further, losing, say, to Bulgaria or Latvia (with all due respect to them).
- What do you think can change the situation for the better?
- We need to draw some conclusions. When guys come to the national team, it means that they have to defend the honor of the country. Therefore, they have to give their best in every match. Even playing with Albania or any other national team, you should always respect the opponent.
- Many thought that after the ill-fated match with Romania (0:3) at the European Championship-2024 our national team made conclusions ....
- Yeah... It turns out that they were made, but not quite. What can you do: we have what we have.
- And now how can Sergei Rebrov get through to the consciousness of his charges?
- In two days our national team will have another match in the Nations League - with the Czechs. We need to go on the field and rehabilitate ourselves. And for this we need only victory. Czech Republic is a good team, but you can play with any opponent and win. After getting three points we can move on.
- The day before the Czech team met away with Georgia, which lost with a big score of 1:4.
- Well, you see how you can achieve the desired result through desire, dedication and fighting qualities! The Georgian national team showed its best side in the final part of the European Championship, desperately fighting in every match from the first to the last minute. So the victory of the Georgians over the Czechs is well deserved. The Ukrainian national team has nothing else to do in the current situation but to beat their closest rival and move on to the goal. All failures are corrected only by victories.
- It turns out that unwittingly the Georgian national team acts as a good example for our team....
- That's for sure! I can not disagree with it. Georgians have fallen in love with many soccer fans with their game and attitude since the European Championship. They fought and gave their best on every square meter in matches against any opponent, and they did it one hundred percent. That's how our players need to do it. And only at the expense of surnames and names of clubs, for which they now play, will not go far. You need to prove your ability day in and day out, from match to match. And as I said above, to treat any opponent with respect. After all, even a partial underestimation always comes out wrong. Although in this case, perhaps, it's not about underestimating the opponent, but the fact that Albanians looked better than our players.
Vyacheslav Kulchitsky
