Former Ukraine and Shakhtar Donetsk defender Oleksandr Kucher commented on Serhiy Rebrov's personnel decisions in the national team ahead of the Nations League matches.
Oleksandr Kucher (photo: scdnipro1.com.ua)- Are eight injured players of the Ukrainian national team on the eve of the October matches catastrophic losses?
- Of course, these are serious personnel losses. If the coach was counting on these players, then this is in any case a negative moment. These are serious losses for the national team - 100%. Rebrov saw these players in the team and had hope for them."
- Do you have any players in mind who could adequately replace the injured teammates?
- I am personally very interested in who will replace these players and how. I am convinced that the coaching staff has candidates, and the reserve list of national teams was made public before. I think that even under such circumstances, Rebrov has players on his pencil who can replace the injured players.
- Do you understand why Rebrov first put Yarmolenko on the reserve list, then called up Tsygankov to replace the injured Tsygankov, while ignoring the best scorer in the UPL , Oleksandr Nazarenko, and then called him back when it became clear that Andriy would not take part in the training camp either?
- It's hard for me to say why. At first, Yarmolenko did not receive a call, and there were other players on the list who looked good during the last period, including Nazarenko. But, apparently, the coaching staff decided to rely on Andriy's experience.
Still, it is a risk to take Nazarenko, who has not yet been called up, to play in official matches, to go through a period of adaptation to the team, to get used to Rebrov's requirements. It takes time, and it is not enough now. The fact that Andriy, as now reported, will not be in the application due to injury, opens the door for Nazarenko. However, of course, it would be better to reconsider him in calmer circumstances, not in matches of great tournament importance.
- The biggest pain is the support area, where neither Brazhko nor Stepanenko will be able to play. How do you feel about Kalyuzhny's debut challenge?
- Yes, there are serious problems here. It will be difficult without Stepanenko and Brazhko. But we see that Oleksandriya is on the move now, looking very good in the UPL. Kalyuzhny is a key player there who has made a significant contribution to the team's success.
His call-up means that the coaching staff is keeping an eye on all the players, and they won't call anyone up. So now, in Rebrov's opinion, Kalyuzhny is the strongest in his position after Stepanenko and Brazhko.
- Even without such losses, it was difficult for our team to score points in the Nations League, but what can we hope for now? Will the newcomers be able to contribute to a positive result in the matches against Georgia and the Czech Republic if they want to?
- It may be different. In any case, we will cheer and support the national team. Obviously, it will be difficult, because we started this qualifier poorly, but we want to win. On the contrary, the Georgians started with two victories, they are confident.
We will have a very difficult match. I think the team will have a dialog about recent matches and analyze mistakes. Perhaps, thanks to a great desire, the new players will be able to get a positive result.
Vladyslav Liutostanskyi
