Famous football expert Oleksandr Sopko summed up the performances of the Ukrainian national team in 2024.
Oleksandr Sopko. Photo — V. Perehniak— By the end of the year, after the Ukrainian national team finished second in the Nations League group, I had a strange feeling that the national team resembled an orphan. Most fans, some specialists, and coaches, not to mention journalists, received the fact that the team did not get eliminated with some sadness... I had never felt this way before.
While clubs still have their fans, and there is always support in difficult times, the support for the national team has been lacking. I did not see anyone celebrating victories; I only saw disappointment and criticism when the national team lost or drew. In my view, this is very wrong. Especially in the situation the Ukrainian team is currently in, and the entire country... After all, this is our national team; it should be respected, if not loved, including every player! We should support it and forgive if something goes wrong.
However, in all our comments and analyses, there was largely one narrative — “they are pampered, they do not want to play, they do not know how, they are wooden.” There was even a demand, often voiced by journalists, that the players should be sent to the front lines to prove themselves in the trenches. As if the journalists themselves are in the trenches, not on their sofas... But such an attitude toward the national team has a reverse effect. A boomerang... When you go to the national team, knowing you are under scrutiny, that they expect mistakes from you, ready to splash you with mud from head to toe, going to such a team is not very joyful. In such a situation, players do not feel that behind them is the country, that they have loyal fans, coaches, specialists, and journalists who wish them victory.
There is a feeling that the Ukrainian national team has not become a home and family for our players. They come, do their job, each has their own goals, their own tasks. Well, the coach tries to do something, invent some tactics, well, we will go out, try, but there is no unity, no overwhelming motivation, no game where each fights for another or for all, when you do not evade struggle, do not hide behind someone, but instead run first and fight, showing by example how it should be done — there was almost none of this. I only saw such motivation in the last two Nations League matches, when it was urgent, when they understood — either we mess up from head to toe, or we do something since we know how to play.
To seek struggle, not to hide from it
In the last matches, when this mood emerged, the result came as well. This state — is a problem of growth — for the team itself and, probably, the coaching staff. We, drunken on dithyrambs about the greatness and strength of our footballers, relaxed them and immersed them in a warm bath. Before Euro 2024, everyone expected that now we would shoot, and so much that everyone would be amazed — not only in our group but even to the finals.
And once again, driven by our journalists and experts, driven by football legends and coaches, everyone insisted: we have such a team, the strongest of the strong that have ever existed! Unfortunately, we raised our expectations so high and so unjustifiably that the downfall overall in the tournament, and especially the first loss to the Romanians, became a shock for everyone. If we had treated the national team and its capabilities more professionally and objectively, with a good analysis of strengths and weaknesses, we would not have been so shocked after the first game.
And the game against Romania at Euro 2024 was indeed a failure. Primarily because the illness within the Ukrainian team is the same as in the clubs. I have already talked about Shakhtar's defensive play — one-on-one, insecurely, unconvincingly, a fearful game. Dynamo has the same problem with defenders. It turned out that practically no one knows how to fight, to take the ball away, to slide tackle, to win aerial duels, to seek struggle, not to hide from it. The Romanians were not stronger than us individually, but they outplayed us tactically, correctly assessing their and our possibilities, and completely outplayed us in terms of motivation and discipline. Because of this, it was not difficult to catch us on mistakes in defense, and we received — 0:3...
This game sharply changed our attitude towards the national team. As if all of them are just a bunch of cowardly “stars,” they should be dispersed, “in a sack — and off the bridge,” Rebrov is not a coach but a “physical education teacher,” such “expert assessments” poured in from every direction. This is usually how it goes... This is our tradition... When we win, we are ready to elevate players and coaches to the heavens, and when something does not go right, we are the first to run away... I would like our attitude to change quickly. We need to be together. The team suffers, we will suffer too; they expect changes, and we do. Together in victory and in defeat.
New profession for Serhiy Rebrov
This cycle has given a lot to Serhiy Rebrov and his coaching staff. Because for him, it is practically a new profession. The national team coach is a completely different specialization than a club coach. The national team coach sees the team for 6 days. How can you teach to play one-on-one or shoot on target accurately in just 6 days? In such a short time, you have to give only maximum motivation and determine the composition correctly. Over the distance — in several months or years, you can already determine a group of players, look at the reserve, try this reserve, and change tactical schemes under the players. But creating miracles in 6 days with players who make childish mistakes in defense while playing in UPL is very difficult.
For Rebrov, this was a difficult cycle; I think he has reconsidered a lot about his attitude towards players. Perhaps he will slightly change his demands, becoming stricter and more decisive in this regard. He must be more principled in determining the composition of the national team. There should not be any untouchables in the team, or those who only take care of the motivational part — before or after the game. The national team is a special collective.
I hope that in the last two matches, when we managed to solve the task and proceed further in the Nations League, there was a shift in the coaching work — a positive one, and this is the first step, and this will continue.
I would not like to switch to personalities and say — who would strengthen the team or not... I do not want to evaluate the players. Everyone has potential — a hundred percent! And everyone can reach a higher level. They will emerge through the games in their teams, making it easier for the coaching staff to determine tactics and the lineup.
Play-off of the Nations League against Belgium
Any game against a good opponent is already a bonus. One thing is to play against Moldova and beat them 4:0, while another is to play against Belgium in a decider and have a score of 0:0 with counter chances. These are games of different levels. Therefore, we need to hold onto such matches — this is good practice, a school, a test. You can check everything here — player conditions, tactical schemes, and coaching decisions as the game progresses. For the footballers, it is also more interesting and useful to play against top opponents. Psychologically, we have nothing to fear because here you cannot lose, but you can win.
The Belgian national team is ranked high, with many excellent players — from Kevin De Bruyne to Romelu Lukaku, but I believe the Belgians have already passed the peak of their development; the golden generation is quietly fading away, and this team is in a phase of restructuring. Moreover, I am not sure that everything is smooth in the coach-player relationships. The example of Courtois is confirmation of that.
As for the preparation for the qualifiers for WC-2026, the match against Belgium is unlikely to be related here. This is a specific spring task. As for the qualifiers — in the fall, a lot of water will flow under the bridge. New players may emerge. It is essential to know your weaknesses and strengths, to understand what you are capable of. This is a single process — building a new national team.
Oleh Semenchenko
