Former head coach of “Alexandria” Yuriy Hura shared his impressions of the match of the 2nd round of the group stage of Euro-2025 (U-21) between the national teams of Ukraine and Finland (2:0), and also talked about what he expects from the next match of the Ukrainian “youth” team in this tournament — against the Netherlands.
Yuriy Hura— To be honest, in my view, in the match against Denmark (2:3, — ed. note) our “youth team” looked even better in terms of the quality of the game than against the Finns. It was clear that the guys had a great desire to achieve a result.
In the reported match, Vanat especially tried; I really liked him with his actions. Besides the scored goal, he had a moment when he pressed the goalkeeper of the Finnish “youth team” — and that one almost “got cooked,” after which Vanat could have scored, but lacked accuracy. There is trust in our goalkeeper Neshcheret, who acts confidently.
As for the red card for Brazhko, that’s something incredible. I don’t even know how to explain it. Recently he hasn’t looked like himself. Perhaps, after the entire 2024/25 season, he has accumulated fatigue and is not in his right state.
— What can you say about the opponent from the land of a thousand lakes?
— The youth team of Finland surprised me. They not only play ice hockey but also football. I thought there would be a cohesive game, some pressure. The Finns rushed into attacks thanks to their passes. However, it should be noted that almost all Finnish players play in the top European clubs.
— It is not always the case that good footballers make a competitive team...
— I agree. Perhaps this is precisely that case.
— Later, our “youth team” awaits a match against the Netherlands — a country that has always produced talented footballers. What do you think Ukraine can expect in this game?
— Judging by the goals I saw from the youth team of the Netherlands, it should be said: Dutch football is Dutch football. But it is noticeable that this team is currently unstable — and this can be taken advantage of.
— Confirmation of your thought can be the fact that after two matches at Euro-2025, the Netherlands has only one point...
— Yes. The Finns played against the Dutch on counterattacks — and took one point from them. The Danes won, showing everyone that they have a good team. To be frank, they surprised me. It was an unexpected outcome for me.
— So it turns out that we lost to the Danes by the case?
— It turns out so. Although our team made unjustified mistakes in the game, which at that moment could have been considered winning. But there’s nothing to be done.
— Who, in your opinion, can replace Vladimir Brazhko in the center of the field for the match against the Netherlands?
— I don’t even know. The main thing is that whoever comes on for him plays at a high level. Unai Melgosa knows well who would be better to replace Brazhko. I am sure that the youth national team of Ukraine has such guys.
Vyacheslav Kulchytsky
