Oleg Ocheretko: "Before the first goal, we played very well"

The midfielder of the Ukraine U21 national team Oleg Ocheretko commented on the defeat of our team against the Netherlands in yesterday’s match of the third round of the group stage of Euro-2025 (U-21).

Oleg Ocheretko. Photo: Getty Images

"Before the first goal, we played very well, transitioning from defense. We needed to play more behind their back because they had big problems when we played like that. I think we should have taken more advantage of those opportunities. And that’s how, with that bizarre goal they scored against us... A mistake — nothing serious, we rushed forward, but they also had more space, after which we conceded the second goal due to another mistake."

In such tournaments, there’s no point of no return. We needed to shoot more at the goal and cross. Because we would reach the penalty area and then turn back and start everything from the beginning. If we had crossed and shot better, they might have scored an own goal or our striker could have scored. We could have advanced further,” Ocheretko said.