Former Ukrainian forward Sergey Chuychenko shared his impressions of the return match between the national teams of Belgium and Ukraine (3:0) in the playoff of the Nations League for the right to participate in Division "A" of this tournament.
Sergey Chuychenko— It immediately became clear that our footballers were playing defensively, relying on counterattacks. However, in the first half, Ukraine’s counterattacks did not materialize. Several times they got into the zone, but the finishing touch had no effect. Once Zinchenko attempted to threaten the goal with a shot from outside the penalty area, but the ball went past the post. This first attempt to attain success came on the 27th minute.
If we talk about the events of the first half of the meeting as a whole, then even then the percentage of ball possession showed the complete dominance of the Belgians. I think the coach's setup envisaged a tight game in defense and the possibility of looking for our chance in counterattacks. So, my assumptions that our team would play in this way were justified already in the first half. The Belgians from the first minutes besieged the goal of Andriy Lunin, and it’s understandable—they needed to score not one, but at least two goals in regular time.
But if in the first half of the game the Ukrainian players coped with defending their goal, then in the second half they failed to do so. With their skill, the Belgians brought the score to what was needed. First, De Keiper won an aerial duel against Tsygankov, passed the ball to Doku, and he passed it back. After that, De Keiper cleverly shot into the far corner of the goal low, opening the scoring. Then, Lukaku scored twice.
In the situation with the first goal, Svatok didn’t manage to close him down, and the forward executed the shot brilliantly, hitting the lowest corner while falling. Such goals are considered very hard for goalkeepers. The second goal by Lukaku also went into the same corner of the goal, but already after a powerful "shot" from outside the penalty area. All these events unfolded in the last twenty minutes of the match, and this fact further emphasizes the bitterness of the defeat. It turns out we could have put up a dignified fight against the opponent for more than an hour, but...
— What did our national team lack to transfer the joy from the first match to the second?
— It was clear to all football people that after 3:1 in Murcia, it was worth playing defensively away. That’s how we played, as the pressure from the Belgians was strong and continuous. They significantly outperformed the Ukrainian team in ball possession and were generally considered the favorites of the match. Unfortunately, Rebrov's team failed to execute a productive counterattack and score at least one goal. For almost the entire game, our footballers were predominantly in defense. There were only about three moments during the game to transition from defense to attack. However, it didn’t happen.
— Some specialists believe that the Ukrainians perhaps should have applied a different tactic...
— I still believe that the tactic chosen for the second match by the coaching staff was correct. The two-goal advantage certainly gave a sense of security, but it turned out that we had to recall the well-known phrase: "The team plays as the opponent allows it." In Genk, there was just that case when the opponent did not allow playing. However, there’s nothing to be surprised about: the Belgium national team is a team that is always considered leading, one of the best in European football. A generational change is currently happening in it, and the coach has changed as well. Under such conditions, failures can happen, as we saw in Murcia.
— In the first meeting between the Ukrainians and the Belgians, Doku was not in the lineup of the latter. However, in the second match, this player was probably one of the most active among the "Red Devils" and kept the entire defense of the Ukrainian national team under tension.
— An excellent footballer, what can I say! He is very quick-footed, mobile, explosive. Doku somewhat reminds me of our Mudrik. However, the Ukrainian has a different style. The Belgian is very sharp, instantly shifting either left or right. Due to his starting speed, Doku easily beats "one-on-one" any opponent. Effectively marking this nimble player with one person is impossible—at least two are needed. I believe he plays a significant role in the game of the Belgium national team.
Vyacheslav Kulchytsky
