Former Dynamo Kyiv and Ukraine national team forward Viktor Leonenko analyzed Ukraine’s victory over Iceland (5:3) in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
’Interest of Panathinaikos in Rebrov? Not necessarily true. Maybe it’s artificial intelligence that decided so.'
Viktor Leonenko— Viktor Yevhenovych, eight goals between the teams in a Ukraine national team match is something you don’t often see. What was that?
— It’s my wife’s birthday today, and Rebrov congratulated her with a win. Olena turned out to be very lucky for the Ukraine national team. At the score 3:3, it could have all ended very differently.
Congratulations to our team on a deserved and logical victory. Today is Ukraine’s day. Besides fighting and struggling on the field, almost everything went in, even though there weren’t many chances. As you can see, the secret of success is quite simple: it turns out we need to shoot on target, which we didn’t do in previous matches. And there’s no need for 20 shots like sometimes Shakhtar, who loses 1:4 to LNZ.
You can’t even make claims against the Icelanders. They had chances, could have drawn, and most importantly, they always score — against France, Ukraine, and Azerbaijan.
— Did you enjoy the match?
— Of course, I enjoyed it. When both teams have so many chances, it’s interesting to watch, although the conditions weren’t particularly football-like, more English-like, with rain. The rain made it hard for both teams, players were making two or three touches, but it was pleasing that there weren’t any puddles, the pitch quality was good.
The Icelandic stadium reminded me of Bannikov stadium, maybe that’s why it was our day because we played as if at home (laughs, — ed. A. P.)
— Let’s analyze our goals.
— It was a day of strikes. Essentially, only Hutsulyak rolled it in, and all others shot. Malinovskyi proved that his right foot isn’t just for walking, but can hit the top corner, although even a stick shoots once a year. It was pleasing that our players ran well from deep, as evidenced by Malinovskyi’s first goal and Kaliuzhnyy’s goal, who played even lower than Zabarnyi but still scored.
— In the first conceded goal, Trubin played poorly in the near corner. How do you rate his play?
— Certainly, when a goal goes into the near post, the goalkeeper is to blame, but here the defenders failed too. I’ve always said that Konoplia is good in attack but useless in defense. Two goals were scored from his zone, he was there and couldn’t do anything. Perhaps Rebrov, like Lobanovskyi, believes that there must be a redhead in the team (laughs, — ed. A. P.). It’s also unclear to me what Zabarnyi was doing in the moment of the first goal when the Icelander, don’t remember the name, ending in 'son', almost ran into the goal. Ilya should have covered in that moment.
— How do you rate the substitutions in the Ukraine national team?
— Voloshyn entered the game best. Besides making a goal assist, he constantly created chances. Ocheretko can also be noted for his goal.
— Who would you give the 'Lion of the Match' to?
— The fans unsurprisingly gave the award to Malinovskyi. Mykolenko, Kaliuzhnyy, and Voloshyn should also be noted. It’s pleasing that we were fine with tackles and runs in this game. I would give the 'Lion of the Match' to the whole team.
— In your opinion, who is the 'Anti-lion of the Match': Trubin for the mistake with the first goal, Konoplia for making mistakes, or maybe you have your own variant?
— I wouldn’t focus on Trubin and Konoplia, many could be found at fault. Vanat couldn’t do anything, he just disappeared. It’s a big problem when a striker doesn’t shoot on goal. Dovbyk came out for 20 minutes and even then managed to shoot. Shaparenko showed nothing. For me, an indicator of an attacking player is many shots and goal assists, even more so in a game where everything went in.
— Sudakov was injured in the first half. What can you say about his injury?
— It’s a cyclist’s injury. They always fall on their collarbones. Most likely, Sudakov has a fracture or crack. Of course, this is not pleasing. I wish him a speedy recovery. Although Voloshyn replaced him well, he even looked better than Sudakov.
— The Ukraine national team is once again hit by a series of injuries. Did the absence of Yaremchuk, Tsyhankov, Zinchenko, Tymchyk, Zubkov affect the team significantly, or have replacements been found for them?
— When the whole team scores, we can forget about the players you’ve mentioned. In this game, replacements were found for them; what will happen next, we’ll see.
— Lunin supposedly didn’t come to the national team due to an injury, but played in a friendly for Real. Does this mean he didn’t want to come to the national team because he understood he’d be second to Trubin?
— If you don’t want to play for the national team, then tell Rebrov that you don’t see yourself as the main choice and won’t be coming anymore. I think Lunin is afraid to say this publicly because they’ll say he’s not a patriot. Probably, Lunin is preparing to break into Real’s main squad, which is unrealistic while Courtois is there. If he didn’t come to the national team because he doesn’t want to be a substitute, then it’s kindergarten. He’s probably upset that Trubin is the main one, not the Real goalkeeper. You could even be in a cosmic team, but you need to play, not sit on the bench!
— Before this match, fans heavily criticized Rebrov, demanding his resignation. There was information that Serhiy Stanislavovych attracted interest from Panathinaikos. After the match with Iceland, does Rebrov deserve to finish the qualifying cycle?
— Coaching is such a profession; it’s constantly criticized, and our fans are very strict and demanding. Moreover, the national team players consider themselves stars. They must have listened to opponent coaches saying our national team is very serious and took those statements to heart.
I think even Rebrov wasn’t happy with the team’s performance; we consistently played well in only one half. Regarding Panathinaikos' interest in Serhiy, it’s not necessarily true. Maybe artificial intelligence decided so. In any case, Shevchenko will make the decision concerning Rebrov. I think any coach should be allowed to complete the season.
— What do you think about the match with Azerbaijan?
— After the match with Iceland, we should beat Azerbaijan. We need to prove in the game against the Baku side that what we did against Iceland wasn’t a fluke, and we will definitely be second. That’s what the players and Rebrov need to think about. For the fans, a 5:3 score is great, but Rebrov needs to analyze our conceded goals; it certainly didn’t get easier for Serhiy.
If we don’t beat Azerbaijan, the fans will immediately forget the hockey score with Iceland and everyone will be bastards again. They will say that we accidentally beat the guys who play at Bannikov Stadium. Every game is decisive for us now and we shouldn’t look at the standings.
— Are we now favorites for second place?
— After such a game, we must be second. Fans won’t accept any other result.
Andriy Piskun
