Ukraine national team defender Ilya Zabarny commented on the victory over the Belgium national team (3:1) in the first match of the Nations League playoffs for the right to compete in Division “A” of this tournament next season, in which he became the author of one of the goals.
Ilya Zabarny (with the ball) against Romelu Lukaku— We understood that we had another return match ahead of us anyway, so we had to play reliably.
Perhaps we didn’t play as actively in the first half as we would have liked and conceded the wrong goal that we shouldn’t have conceded. But then we activated and managed to win.
— What specifically allowed you to turn the game around?
— We followed the game plan and the instructions of the coaching staff, tried to press the opponent, and it brought us results.
— After the injuries of Konoplya and Syche, Zinchenko had to move to the right flank of defense. How was the understanding with him?
— Everything was good. But, of course, it’s always very sad when injuries happen. But that’s football, we cannot avoid injuries.
Well, Zinchenko played well in this position; he’s a great player and versatile.
— The fans recognized you as the "Lion of the match" today.
— It’s very nice to score for the Ukraine national team, but the most important thing is that we won. I believe that our whole team worked hard today! I am very grateful to all the guys because they gave their all on the field as it was needed. This "Lion of the match" is my first, but I reiterate, more than anything, I am very happy that the team won.
Darina Olefirенко from Murcia, for Dynamo.kiev.ua
