The former midfielder of Lviv's "Karpaty," Ihor Khudobiak, commented on Ukraine's away defeat to Belgium (0:3) in the Nations League playoffs.
Ihor Khudobiak— The impressions after the match are negative. I wanted the national team to advance further, to League A, but it didn’t happen. The team suffered a crushing defeat, showing almost nothing in attack.
The score of 0:3 is a defeat to the Belgian national team, which is not in its best shape right now. We could have played against them and moved forward. Yes, this is a failure. The main reason is the lack of counterplay. Ukraine did not conduct quality attacks, did not create goal-scoring opportunities, and did not even control the ball. There were no prolonged plays, at least 10-15 passes, to annoy the Belgians.
I do not think the plan was simply to defend and not let the opponent play. It is obvious that there was a calculation for counterattacks, but they did not work. The turning point was the third goal at the end of the match. With a score of 2:0, there was still a chance for extra time, possible penalties, or at least a change in tactics and one goal in response. But the third goal decided everything.
Everyone is to blame — both the coaching staff and the players. This is a team sport: if the team lost, then everyone failed together. However, the responsibility will undoubtedly lie with the head coach,” said Khudobiak.
