The former head coach of Kyiv’s Dynamo and the Ukraine national team Leonid Buryak shared his impressions of the first playoff match of the Nations League for the right to compete in Division "A" of this tournament Ukraine — Belgium (3:1).
Leonid Buryak. Photo — O. Vasilieva— The main thing is that we won, although we played two different halves in terms of the content of the game, — noted Buryak. − Our team definitely deserves thanks for their dedication, and we must once again state that this Ukraine national team is capable of playing successfully against any opponent. We have great players who can deliver results, but also those who, like in this match against Belgium, fell out of the game.
— What do you say about the starting lineup of the "blue-yellows"?
— It's hard to evaluate it, as the head coach knows the situation within the team better. However, it must be admitted — in the first half our Ukraine national team played with mistakes and was quite unbalanced. We need to seriously analyze why our national team plays two different halves in terms of content and quality in every match. This led to the goal against us that happened after a set piece. Undoubtedly, Sychev is not the player who should have been marking Lukaku in the penalty area. Besides, the Belgians played it out and executed everything masterfully — an ideal cross from De Bruyne and a shot from Lukaku who anticipated well.
— How critical was the loss of Konoplya, and then Sychev?
— Konoplya is undoubtedly a starting player. The problem arose in our defense immediately after his forced substitution, and it will be no less a problem for the Ukraine national team in the upcoming return match. Of course, they will do an MRI, they will understand what kind of injury Yefim sustained, but it's unfortunate to lose such a player. As for Sychev, as I understand, his knee is injured. We can only hope that at least Sychev will be available for the away match.
— The injury of Sychev, which led Sergey Rebrov to make three substitutions at once, remarkably turned the whole game around...
— Yes, these changes worked in our favor. Zinchenko's movement to the other flank was successful, where he, along with Sudakov and Tsygankov, simply bewildered the Belgian defense. The Ukraine national team found its rhythm, although it's usually the other way around.
— And it all started with a mistake by the Belgian defender, which Hutsulyak capitalized on...
— You can't play like that in defense. The Belgian made a simple yet terrible mistake. Moreover, I believe that the unexpected substitution of De Bruyne, who was leading the game for his team, especially in the first half, worked against the opponents. In principle, all of the Belgian coach's substitutions were very unsuccessful — of those who came on the field, no one made an impact.
As for our footballers, Hutsulyak did the maximum — he scored a very important goal, and Vanat added mobility to the attack of the Ukraine national team. Vanat’s style of play is significantly different from Yaremchuk’s, as the Dynamo forward is quicker, drops back for the ball, opens up, and does a significant amount of work.
— There were many hopes on Ilya Zabarniy before the match against Belgium. How would you evaluate his performance?
— I like his football — both in the club and the national team. Zabarniy faced a tough opponent — Lukaku constantly tried to intensify the game, and in the goal episode, he managed to pick a good position and adjust to De Bruyne's exquisite cross. But this was a set piece — it's tough to counteract in such situations. Overall, Zabarniy played excellently and, moreover, scored a goal.
— Our team's "fitness" pleasantly surprised, as they managed to sharply increase the tempo after the break. The Belgians, it seems, on the contrary, slowed down?
— The opponent played the second half completely poorly. I reiterate, all the substitutions by the Belgium national team went against them, and that mistake in the 66th minute broke their spirit. After that, everything fell apart for the Belgians.
— What can the Ukraine national team hope for on the road — both in terms of personnel and tactics?
— I think we shouldn’t count on Konoplya — he has such an injury. As for Sychev, I don't know, we'll see. We have a good result on our side — a two-goal advantage, although a good result in Murcia would also be a draw... Therefore, we need to remember that we have only played the first half of the confrontation. The Belgium national team has no more rights to make mistakes, and there will be a completely different football on their home ground.
Oleg Semenchenko
