Famous Ukrainian coach Vyacheslav Grozny shared his impressions of the 3rd round of the Nations League match between Ukraine and Georgia.
Vyacheslav the Terrible- Vyacheslav Viktorovich, congratulations on your victory! Please share your impressions of what you saw.
- Same here. Of course, I was impressed by the poor quality of the pitch. Poznan has a strong team, Lech is the championship leader. And they play in the garden. We saw many players changing their shoes during the match. The lawn did not allow highly technical players to demonstrate their best qualities. It was difficult in every sense.
Based on the tournament situation, it was easier for the Georgian national team. With six points, they could easily play their football. It's just that no one gave it to them.
The coaching staff of the Ukrainian national team was tactically well prepared for this match. They neutralized the main opportunities of the opponents: control of the ball, quick transition from defense to attack, use of space, and proper play between the lines.
- There were almost no really dangerous moments near our goal.
- Because Kiteishvili and Chakvetadze, who played for me at Dynamo Tbilisi, the five players in the Georgian national team with whom I worked at the time, are constructive leaders. They cut the lines, the game goes through them. These important players were well covered by a double safety net. The leader Khvichi Kvaratskhelia was not visible either.
I would like to note that, unlike in previous matches, we did not make individual mistakes, did not lose the fight during the standards. Kvicha's shot didn't go off. He created a lot of danger from corners, of which there were seven, free kicks from the strike zone.
We also created few scoring chances. It was a game for the result. Our players tried to play simply, reliably, clearly. They succeeded. If not for a few free kicks near Trubin's goal, it would have been perfect.
We took advantage of the defender's mistake. Sudakov pushed the ball out, Mudryk individually got involved at speed and scored. Mamardashvili probably could have repelled the shot, but not on such a field when it is impossible to push off the lawn.
- It was striking that they picked up yellow cards for holding up opponents with their hands.
- Because the Georgians are fast, organized, and create danger during high-speed attacks. The Czechs experienced this in the first round. If you don't have time to play ahead of the ball, you won't be able to keep up with your opponent. That's why our players disrupted attacks in this way
I know a lot about Georgian football. Previous generations of players were more talented, but they couldn't achieve results. They all played on the attack and didn't do the menial work without the ball.
The current Georgian national team plays differently. It is disciplined, with its leaders. But, as we saw, with properly organized pressure, our team did not allow the opponent to instantly switch from defense to attack. But it was thanks to Shaparenko, Sudakov, Dovbyk that we constantly created space for Mudryk and Hutsulyak to use their speed. That is, they beat the opponent with their trump cards.
- But again, people will say that the Ukrainian national team has no system of play.
- I have already read about this. We need to understand: do you want the national team to win, or do you want it to play in the style of Barcelona and Manchester City? We have completely different players, with different capabilities and potential. We have to use the players' other strengths. This is our style.
- In clubs, our players act differently, and this creates certain problems for the national team coaching staff.
- It is difficult to achieve full understanding between the players in a short period of time during the preparation of the national team. There were debutants. Let's take Dovbyk. Artem adapted to Italian football at Roma. He acts differently there. And when Sudakov shot at the far post, the striker didn't have time to make the pass. It was a scoring chance. He didn't go there because Roma don't have such a player - there he plays well ahead, fights, sometimes comes forward from deep. And in Girona he was used differently. There he managed to play with his head, finish, get ahead.
- Yesterday he was great at grabbing the ball, just gnawing it away.
- Yes. Georgia plays with three central defenders. In the first half of the game, two were already on yellow cards. If you have no warning, you play more boldly ahead, you can hold the opponent, and when you have a card, you can't do that. Dovbyk did a good job, he used it, clung to it, fought.
- Vyacheslav Viktorovych, how do you like the newcomers in the starting lineup?
- I felt that the team came out to win. The mood was transmitted to everyone. Kalyuzhnyi is not a newcomer for Rebrov. He is well acquainted with his capabilities from his time at Dynamo Kyiv. It is not known whether Ivan will play against the Czech Republic, because Stepanenko will be ready, but with Georgia, Kalyuzhny won almost all the events in which he participated. He received a card because he lost to his opponent at the start. If he had the speed of Mudryk, he would have played in a top European club. He has understanding, a shot, character, and takes the ball well.
In defense, the whole team worked well. Mudryk, Hutsulyak, and Shaparenko.
- Hutsulyak did a good job of neutralizing Kvaratskhelia.
- He worked hard, pumped up, and returned from the position, because he was acting as a winger. Just like Mudryk. We saw how much Hutsulyak opened up when Dovbyk took players away. If there were passes, he would have run out one-on-one more than once. Oleksiy is not currently a player in the starting lineup, so his partners are not used to him.
And Rebrov studied well how the Hutsulyak-Dovbyk combination worked in Dnipro-1, they felt each other with their eyes closed. They also lacked Pikhalenko.
Zubkov's exit was also predicted, because they have been working together with Konoplya for a long time. These are good trump cards for the national team. I wouldn't be surprised if Zubkov comes out in the starting lineup in the match against the Czech Republic.
- There is an opinion that Shaparenko and Sudakov are cramped on the same field. Yesterday it was not noticeable.
- I will say more - they are high-class players and operate in different positions. Remember the episode: Sudakov, like a computer, turned his head, saw Shaparenko's dash and put the ball on Mykola's head.
- If he had hit it with his forehead, he would have scored for sure.
- It was a scoring chance. Another newcomer to the starting lineup is Taloverov. I didn't think he would come on from the first minute. There were options with Svatko, Mykhailychenko on the left flank with Matvienko in the center of defense. But Rebrov has been watching the players for one month, he knows better their capabilities at the moment. Svatok plays in America, in the MLS - far away. The man flew across the ocean, other time zones, adaptation. And in what condition is he, and on such a field? Unlike the coach, we don't know.
We had problems with standards, and Taloverov is a good header. He won the fight up top almost all the way. It should be noted that Kalyuzhny was ahead. Ivan, like a "dog on a chain," cleared everything - it was easier for the defenders to play.
Why didn't Matvienko join the attack? Because Konoplya took on the role of an attacking defender on the other flank. At the same time, the national team switched to playing with three central defenders. I would also like to note the restructuring in defense. Why did Zabarny act as a left center back in the second half? Because Mikautadze is a reactive player, and it is easier for him to play against Taloverov than against Zabarnyi, who is quite strong against anyone.
- In your opinion, how will the Ukrainian national team play in the match against the Czech Republic? The option of a winning game suggests itself.
- There is no point in giving up on what gives results. These are our trump cards. We know how to destroy the opponent's game, not to let them use their trump cards. You need to understand that the Czech national team is very dangerous on the standards. They have a large group of tall players who can squeeze the most out of set pieces. Therefore, we will probably see Taloverov in the starting lineup again. And Dovbyk will be in the starting lineup, because he is a great header.
Realistically, we must understand that the game needs to be raised higher from our goal so that there are fewer dangerous standards. The Czech national team is more powerful, a team with character. But they don't have such constructive players as Shaparenko and Sudakov. I don't think there will be many goal-scoring chances in the match, but I have a feeling that we can squeeze the most out of what we create. Minimizing the danger at our own goal, of course. We will again play reliably, for the result.
There will probably be a chance for Hutsulyak and Kalyuzhny to prove themselves, because it is clear that if Tsygankov, Yarmolenko, Brazhko, Stepanenko, Sydorchuk were in the lineup, they could still expect calls to the national team.
There will be no beautiful game. If there is an opportunity to win the group, why not take advantage of it? The Czech national team has big gaps between the lines, they don't have time to rebuild. Let them not be offended, but we are better at rebuilding, working better without the ball, working better with the ball. That's why I really see an opportunity for us to have six points after the match on October 14 in Wroclaw.
And you have to understand that the Czechs at home and the Czechs away are quite different teams.
Gennadiy Chekhovskiy
