The goalkeeper of Kyiv's “Dynamo” and the youth national team of Ukraine Ruslan Neshcheret in an interview with the Telegram channel “Eurofootball” commented on the defeat by the youth national team of the Netherlands (0:2) in yesterday’s match of the 3rd and final round of the group stage of Euro-2025 (U-21), which did not allow the “blue-yellow” team to advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Ruslan Neshcheret— We passed the qualifying cycle for Euro-2025 (U-21) very confidently, we entered its final part very confidently, and we did not want to end it like this. But here it is. As our head coach said, we either win or learn. That’s the way it is.
— Was there any jitters before the opponent’s name today?
— No, we did not pay attention to that. We made unfortunate mistakes, and that gave us the negative result we have.
We do not have such a mindset: Netherlands, Portugal. We always step onto the field with thoughts of victory. We always fight for our country, for our crest, for our warriors who are fighting for our freedom.
We tried to play our football. We did not just kick the ball, but tried to play short passes, so there was no reason to say that we are some lumberjacks. I believe that if we lose, we should do it with our heads held high.
— There were individual mistakes in previous matches as well. Was there not enough time to work on those mistakes?
— The time frames were quite tight. Perhaps we really need time to analyze everything thoroughly. But it is as it is.
— The coach said it is important for him that the team progresses from match to match. Do you feel that such progress was made?
— Progress is assessed by results. By that assessment, progress is not very much. But if we talk about the game, about what the coaching staff requires from us, what Rebrow, conditionally, demands regarding the style that the national team preaches, then I believe that we are getting closer to all of this.
The most important thing is to progress, not to be afraid to play football. It’s better to lose this way than to just kick the ball forward and defend throughout the entire game. Therefore, I believe that there is progress. We just need to learn and learn again.
— What did the coach say to you after this game?
— He thanked us for the entire qualifying cycle, wished us luck, said he was very pleased with our dedication, and how we worked. But in football, the most important thing is always the result.
— This match ends your period in the youth national team. What was the most memorable?
— There were a lot of positive emotions. For example, when we beat England in Košice. It was wonderful to be part of such a great team with such coaches. Every time we came to the national team, it was always very heartfelt. The fact that it took 24 hours was a completely different story. I really liked everything here; I am very pleased with all the guys, the staff, and everyone who stayed behind the scenes. I can only thank everyone for those two years we had here.
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