The famous Ukrainian coach Yuriy Virt shared his impressions of the performances of the Ukrainian national team in 2024.
Yuriy Virt— I will start with a more general question. What are your impressions of the performance of the Ukrainian national team in official and friendly matches in 2024?
— You know, it’s a tough question. It’s clear that the main event of 2024 was qualifying for Euro. We managed to be participants in this championship. It was extremely difficult to get there. Particularly memorable are the two playoff games in March against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland.
These were incredibly tough matches, but there was a good result — two victories with the same score of 2:1. In terms of gameplay, I can say that the Ukrainian national team looked very weak, and there was a bit of luck involved in those matches. But the main task was to qualify for the European Championship, and we achieved that.
During the European Championship, great expectations immediately come to mind. There was a lot of talk that our team is potentially very good, with a mix of young and experienced players who can achieve a good result. Unfortunately, the team finished last in the group.
I believe that the team deserved some criticism. But there was a bit too much of it. I mean from journalists, from bloggers. There was little support, a lot of criticism — only talk of Rebrov's resignation. I think we need to support, cheer for, and love the Ukrainian national team more. I recalled that during the matches of the Ukrainian national team, commentators were not always happy when it achieved a positive result. I would like to see more support, regardless of who the coach is or which players are on the field.
In terms of performance.. The truly disastrous game against Romania was felt, as the team then showed a very good second half against Slovakia and good football against Belgium. Still, somewhere the realization of scoring opportunities let us down, and we couldn’t push through. I would have liked to start the championship with the kind of game we had against Belgium. I mean more aggression. I didn’t see that in the match against Romania — it was more careful football plus individual mistakes.
Overall, if we take Euro, we didn’t manage to achieve the goal of advancing from the group stage. So we can say that this is an unsuccessful result for the team.
As for the Nations League, I think after the disastrous matches against the Czech Republic and Albania, Ukraine really didn’t show such bright football in the last matches, but there was a result. Many said that we would finish fourth in the group and drop to a lower division, but the team took second place. That’s a good result. Of course, I would have wanted first place, but there’s a chance to play in a higher division if we beat the Belgians.
Expectations were higher, but we have what we have.
— The current Ukrainian national team has been repeatedly called “the best generation in history.” At the same time, the team has had a tough time in matches against Romania, Slovakia, Albania, the Czech Republic, and Georgia. Why is it currently hard for the national team to play against teams that are on paper of the same level or weaker?
— Let’s put it this way — there is the game, and there is the result. There are questions about the results, and probably also about the gameplay.
Let’s take logistics — the Ukrainian national team hasn’t played home matches at home. We perfectly understand and know what support there is for the Ukrainian national team in Ukraine. A large part of the team’s success was due to the fans who pushed them forward. Now Ukraine plays all its matches abroad. With all due respect to the support that exists now, but playing at home is home, and that also affects the results. It’s a factor that influences the outcome. When playing at home, there’s a much better chance that the team can win.
I’ve seen that players probably do not fully tune in. They need to give their all, what they have, energy, resources. They need to put in a full effort — and then the result will come. We saw in the last matches against Georgia, Albania, and the Czech Republic that the team is changing. And Rebrov notes that players were lacking here.
I think the players understand what kind of country we live in today, what is happening in our country, and therefore their tuning and self-giving should be at the highest level. The tuning is one of the “negatives” that the team has.
More emphasis should be placed on the coaching staff — we would like to see more aggressive football from the Ukrainian national team. I’ve already said that there was more cautious football. If we talk about the playoff matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland, there was football for result, but I would have liked more aggressive, attacking, dominating football against such national teams. I think the coaches will make a proper analysis, and the team will grow, progress, and show more exciting football.
— Throughout the year, rumors spread in the media about conflicts in the Ukrainian national team's locker room. In your opinion, is the atmosphere in the team healthy now or not?
— I think it’s healthy. There may be conflicts. In every national team, there are some conflicts — I can’t say whether they are significant conflicts or micro-conflicts. They do occur. Solving them is not a problem. If they existed at all — we can only operate on unverified rumors.
I think that Shaparenko and Mudryk have resolved their differences. And Zinchenko and Rebrov also have. I think such micro-conflicts are immediately suppressed. They may be, they may arise, but I think it’s the head coach's job to resolve these conflicts immediately.
Everyone understands perfectly — this is the Ukrainian national team. It’s the ceiling for every player, and they need to go out and show their maximum on the football pitch.
— In 2024, many players made their debut for the Ukrainian national team. Did you like how the debutants presented themselves in the team?
— I can’t say that they spent a lot of time on the football field. They played towards the end of the Nations League. It’s very good that there are new footballers — new names appearing in the Ukrainian national team. There is trust from the head coach.
Kaluzhny had a good match against the Georgian national team. There is trust in Hutsuliak. In the last match, we also saw Sych on the football field. We can also mention Talovierov. And there was a call for Yarmolyuk.
I think Rebrov understands, trusts, selects the best. I’m confident that on the football field, all the best players are present.
We see that young footballers are emerging. I think even more new players will appear in the starting lineup, and they will get called up for friendly matches. There are new names in the national team — and that’s good.
— Who among those who have not yet been called up to the national team would you like to see in Rebrov's squad?
— I think all the best footballers are called up to the national team. There’s no one to add that is truly at a high level, either abroad or in the Ukrainian championship, and who hasn’t been called up yet.
— After each match, the “Lion of the Match” is chosen. If we were to determine the “Lion of the Year,” who would you choose?
— Undoubtedly — it’s Illya Zabarniy.
— Considering the future of the Ukrainian national team, we cannot overlook the positive doping test of Mykhailo Mudryk. How might his potential suspension affect the morale of the Ukrainian national team and its play?
— It should definitely not affect the morale in any way. If this suspension indeed happens, it’s Mudryk's problem. It’s clear that this is quite a significant loss for the Ukrainian national team, but it shouldn’t affect the morale at all. With all due respect to Mykhailo Mudryk, we should close this position and show that the game cannot depend on one player, even such a bright one as Mykhailo Mudryk.
I believe that Serhiy Stanislavovych will find a player in the match against Belgium and in the World Cup qualifying matches who will adequately fill this position. In terms of morale, the players should understand that such cases happen, but there is a Ukrainian national team that must go out and deliver results.
A player must emerge who can replace Mudryk equivalently, although it will be extremely difficult. Mykhailo is indeed a good player, and he has reached good form. This is a loss, but I think the players who can really replace him will play.
Anton Hreskiv
