Having defeated the Albanians — 2:1, the national team of Ukraine finished second in its Nations League group and will continue the struggle for promotion in March 2025. Former midfielder of the national team of Ukraine Vitaliy Kosovskiy shared what helped the players of Sergey Rebrov win at a crucial moment in Tirana:
— It seemed that in the first half, everything came together: Alexander Zinchenko and Roman Yaremchuk started, and scoring at the debut gave confidence to their teammates, there was quality selection, recoveries, and a quick transition from defense to attack. Even stopper Ilya Zabarniy allowed himself to press high in the third zone. This was practically an ideal game by the guests.
— After the break, the actions of the Ukrainian team were no longer as cohesive. Why?
— Apparently, it’s a matter of psychology. After all, the desire of our guys to play for results prevailed, and they began to look back more. We should give credit to the coaching staff of the hosts, who guessed the substitutions: fresh players made the team play more mobile and diverse.
By the way, the score — 2:0 is very treacherous; it seemed there was a comfortable advantage, but one conceded goal can change everything dramatically. The Albanians scored their goal, but the guests calmly survived this failure, acted tenaciously, reliably in support, and did not create threats to Anatoliy Trubin's goal.
It’s just a pity that towards the end of the match, Georgiy Sudakov and Alexander Nazarenko failed to convert scoring chances, but the final victory left no doubts. After a failed start, the Ukrainian team managed to rehabilitate itself, jumping from last place to second, which grants the right to playoffs for a ticket to League A.
— So, in your opinion, who would be a convenient opponent for the Ukrainian team in the fight for promotion?
— I would like the Ukrainians to measure their strength against Scotland. Matches involving this team are always fought hard, rich in tackles, and stubbornness is highly regarded here. However, if Sergey Rebrov's players play as purposefully next March as they did in the first half in Tirana, they will be able to defeat any of the potential opponents.
Let us remind you that the opponents of the Ukrainian team in the struggle for a ticket to League A may be the teams of Belgium, Scotland, Serbia, and Hungary.
Andrey Pisarenko