Andriy Vorobey: «I wouldn’t want the Ukrainian national team to face the Belgians. Other teams are all within our strength»

Former forward of «Shakhtar» and the national team of Ukraine Andriy Vorobey shared his impressions of the victory of the Ukrainian national team in the Nations League match against Albania.

— How do you assess the victory of the Ukrainian national team over Albania (2:1) in the Nations League?

— First of all, everyone should be congratulated on the victory. The Ukrainian team won and, with a favorable outcome, actually took a decent position in the group. Those two quick goals, of course, greatly affected the course of the match. Those two very quick goals helped us a lot. This somewhat stunned the Albanian team. Before the start of the second half, the Albanians couldn’t come to their senses. The first minutes of the match played in our favor. And it’s worth mentioning that this victory can be credited to Serhiy Rebrov. His substitutions and coaching intuition also played their part. He guessed with substitutions that brought results. Yaremchuk and Zinchenko scored goals.

— Indeed, Zinchenko scored an important goal for the national team!

— Yes, it can be said that Zinchenko lacks regular playing time at Arsenal and is not in the best condition. But he came onto the field and, thanks to his experience and skill, scored a very important goal in the early minutes of the match. And the first goal was the most important in the match against Albania. Zinchenko, in principle, played decently in the first half. The coaching staff felt this well and trusted the players who brought the victory.

— Indeed, Zinchenko and Yaremchuk haven’t shown themselves in the national team for a long time!

— This coaching intuition, this coaching rotation bore fruit. Moreover, this happened at a very crucial moment when it needed to be done. The favorable outcome allowed us to break into the playoffs and fight for promotion to Division A.

— Which player’s performance in this match did you like the most?

— As we say now, the MVP of the match was Zinchenko. But I would still give the title of the best player of the match to Zabarnyi. Illia played very well throughout the match against Albania! He acted very successfully on the field. He showed himself well as a defender. Zabarnyi also helped the team in attack. Illia started a lot of attacks. I think he is the best player of the match.

— What can you say about Ivan Kaliuzhnyi’s performance?

— The guy is improving. It's no wonder the coach trusts him. As we say in football, there are players who carry the piano and there are footballers who play this piano. Kaliuzhnyi is one of those footballers who carry the piano. His work might not always be noticeable. But in the match against Albania, he found himself in the places where he needed to be. Especially in the second half when Konoplia was already struggling, Kaliuzhnyi covered for him three times. He was doing his dirty work. Such players are needed in every team. I believe that Kaliuzhnyi is currently having good matches for the national team.

— Young players Sych, Taloverov, and Nazarenko also came on as substitutes!

— Yes, when Konoplia got tired, he was replaced by Sych. Serhiy Stanislavovych is infusing new blood into the national team. And this is, in principle, correct. Hutsuliak didn’t spoil the game, and the same goes for Sych. Kaliuzhnyi again played brightly. Nazarenko needs to get more minutes for confidence. He has moments. So far he hasn't scored, but everything will happen! We just need to wait a bit. The coaching staff is doing the right thing by trusting young players. Matches like these are necessary to build the future composition of the national team.

— On November 22, the draw for the Nations League playoffs will take place for the right to play in the elite division. Possible opponents for Ukraine are Belgium, Serbia, Hungary, and Scotland. What do you think of these teams?

— It doesn't matter. But, of course, I wouldn’t want to face the Belgians. Other teams are all within our strength. Even the Belgians are within Ukraine's strength, but still, in terms of level and skill, they are a bit higher. The rest of the national teams are basically all of the same level. And it doesn’t matter who the opponent will be. The chances will be 50 to 50.

— How do you rate the performances of the Shakhtar players before the Champions League matches?

— I liked Sudakov’s performance. He played this match well. In principle, Matviyenko also played decently. Basically, each player contributed to the national team’s victory. And those 4 points that the national team earned in the matches against Georgia and Albania were deserved by the whole team! I should also note that no one failed in the match against the Albanians. If the players come to the national team with the same attitude as in the match against Albania, there will be a result.

Dmytro Kotkov