One of the coaches of Kyiv’s Dynamo, Artem Yashkin shared his impressions of the World Cup 2026 qualifying match Azerbaijan – Ukraine (1:1), which took place yesterday in Baku.
— Artem, how would you characterize the outcome of the match in Baku for all of Ukraine?
— It’s very poor that we didn’t win. The game itself, the lineup, and how the game was structured can only be described as a failure.
— What is the basis of your conclusion?
— Azerbaijan defended with at least five defenders, while we set up four central midfielders and kept pushing through the middle. There were too many players, and it was hard to breathe. We mainly used the left flank in the first half, forgetting about Konoplya. After the break, the right flank was engaged, as if the team was afraid of the head coach, attacking away from his sight. There was no width, no quick attacks, and when we lost the ball, there was no counter-pressing.
A telling moment occurred in the second half when Zabarnyi lost the ball near the opponent’s penalty area, and seven players in yellow shirts just watched. The passes were very short, central midfielders Bondarenko and Ocheretko rushed to the defenders and took the balls. And up front, there was no one; everyone clustered in the center. I don’t know what the Ukrainian national team was relying on to win this match. On skill? But that option did not work out.
— Was there a penalty against Azerbaijan in the 3rd minute?
— It’s a tricky moment. In my opinion, there was a minimal foul. That’s something the referee should decide. Although it’s worth noting that Vanat wouldn’t have reached the ball. But I’m sure in one thing: the referee would have whistled a foul in the center of the field.
— How can you explain 75% possession with almost no scoring chances?
— They played in squares. They approached the opponent’s penalty area and lost the ball, although everything in that zone needed to be done much faster, which was not observed among the Ukrainian national team players. There was no aggression in attack. Only once did Zubkov play one-on-one well, and in the end, there was a goal.
— Has the slow play of the Ukrainian national team become its hallmark?
— Most likely, yes. And I’m surprised that we constantly fail the first half. Perhaps the analytical group is not conveying the information correctly. It was well known that Azerbaijan would stand back in defense. It needs to be stretched out, but we did the opposite. The second half was somewhat better. I have a feeling that everything is analyzed at halftime, not before the game.
— Did overconfidence after scoring the goal play a cruel joke on Sergey Rebrov’s team?
— I would call it self-satisfaction. For a team that defends a lot and then concedes a goal, the psychological state drops to zero. Good teams finish off their opponent in that situation. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian national team stepped back and started passing the ball around. It turns out that the players don’t believe they can score two goals. Especially against Azerbaijan. I don’t understand that.
— I don’t want to blame everything on the head coach, but I don’t remember Sergey Rebrov ever taking the blame on himself.
— Strangely enough, I haven’t heard that either. We all want more from this team. But how can we expect it? There should be some movement forward. The game hasn’t changed since the European Championship. It’s all the same. Every team should have its style. But will we recognize the Ukrainian national team if we dress it in different jerseys? That’s a question. Perhaps it’s just my emotions speaking, and maybe it’s not so bad; I don’t know.
— Did the substitutions in the second half also fail to strengthen our game?
— How did they strengthen it? There was a push at the end of the match when Zabarnyi and Matvienko ran into the penalty area. Sudakov disappeared on the field after scoring a goal. Shaparenko often returned back. There was no integrity in the play of the "yellow-blue" team.
— Who disappointed you in the Ukrainian national team? Not because they made mistakes, but because they could or should have done more.
— Everyone played at roughly the same poor level. In a word, they couldn’t defeat the weakest team in our group. Perhaps the pitch was to blame, or maybe the wind blew in our direction the whole time. There are plenty of excuses, but there’s no result. Something needs to change, perhaps in attitude towards work, in analysis...
— They say when a team hasn’t won for a long time, it’s in a rut. Can this apply to the Ukrainian national team now?
— These are, of course, different things, but judging by the play and results of our main national team, where progress is not visible so far, there is a grain of truth in your words. We no longer know if the Ukrainian national team can defeat an outsider; there’s no reserve in the game.
— Nevertheless, I want to be optimistic during such a difficult time for Ukraine. Is everything still in our hands?
— If there are theoretical chances, then there are practical ones, so we can only hope that the team will manage to realize them. If only there wasn’t analysis for the sake of analysis. After the match with France, conclusions were made, and we have already drawn. We didn’t give a fight to Azerbaijan, but the opponent managed to do that.
Sergey Demyanchuk