Mykhailo Kopolovets: "Mudryk is cooler than Kvaratskhelia, I like him better"

Former midfielder of Karpaty, Mynai and other clubs Mykhailo Kopolovets shared his thoughts withSbirnaabout the victory of the Ukrainian national team over Georgia (1-0) in the League of Nations, with a special focus on Mykhailo Mudryk.

- Well done! Yesterday the team wanted to win and gave it their all. The guys fought for every ball, clung to every piece of the field and gnawed at the ground. I really liked the game. I've never seen anything like it before. We covered the Georgians so well that they could not leave their penalty area. This shows aggression. Ukraine was much better than the Georgians. If we continue to play like this, we will not have any complaints even if we lose.

- Were you not surprised by the Georgians?

- Yesterday they played poorly. Look at how many times the Georgians lost the ball when building an attack. This means that our players played well in all positions.

- Do you think yesterday's victory will be a turning point for the national team, because before that there was a winless streak?

- I hope so. Defeats have their reasons. Previously, people just came out to play football, but yesterday they gave it their all on the field.

- What do you expect from the match against the Czech Republic?

- If we play like we did against Georgia, we will win. The Czech Republic, Georgia, and Albania are definitely within our reach. These are teams of our level that we can beat 100%. I think we have drawn conclusions. We are moving on.

- Returning to the match with the Georgians, how would you assess the performance of the debutant Kalyuzhnyi and Hutsulyak, who has not played much for the national team before.

- I am very happy for Hutsulyak and Kalyuzhny. Well done to them! The guys came out and strengthened the team. If someone doesn't care about the national team, then we definitely need to release new people from the UPL who want to prove something.

- Yesterday Kalyuzhny looked very decent. Do you think that when Brazhko and Stepanenko recover, Rebrov will call Ivan up?

- In any case, Rebrov will know that there is such a player, he already knows his qualities well. Kalyuzhnyi has shown without any problems that he can cover the position of a fullback in the national team. And who to call up is up to the coaching staff to decide. Perhaps not in all matches, but Hutsulyak and Kalyuzhny can be used somewhere. They were a revelation for me.

- Did you feel the absence of Tsygankov and Yarmolenko or did Hutsulyak do well on the right wing?

- Hutsulyak looked great! There are no irreplaceable players, even in the national team. You don't have to make idols out of national teams! For each position, we have two or three equivalent players who can come out and play even tomorrow. If Stepanenko is out, Kalyuzhny comes in, if Yarmolenko is out, Hutsulyak comes in, if Dovbyk is out, Yaremchuk comes in. Yes, the national team has leaders, but in recent matches they have not performed well, so we need to look for a reserve.

One player should not play a key role for the national team. With all due respect to Mudryk, he doesn't show the kind of football where he would be indispensable. He is not Messi for Argentina. Our team should not be tied to one player.

- Many criticized Mudryk, but yesterday Mykhailo scored the winning goal and statistical portals recognized him as the best player of the match. Do you agree?

- You can lose a game, but if you fight like you did yesterday against the Georgians, no one will criticize you. Everything can be forgiven, but not the lack of desire and mood for the game. I liked that our team played with heart and soul against the Georgians, so I don't want to single anyone out. Mudryk did a lot of work both in defense and in attack, like all our players.

- Will Mudryk's winning goal give him confidence in his performances for Chelsea?

- I wish him that. His qualities are incredible, but he needs to be able to use them on the field. Against Georgia, he showed in several moments that he is a top player.

- Who do you like more: Mudryk or Kvaratskhelia, who was closed down by Konoplya yesterday?

- I like Misha more. He has better qualities, he is faster and plays in a top team. That's why Mudryk is better than Kvaratskhelia. Misha just needs to calm down psychologically and use his moments at Chelsea. The coach gives him playing time. But there is a lot of competition at Chelsea, and if you don't use your chances several times, they will stop letting you play.

Andriy Piskun