Former head coach of Kovalyvka’s «Kolos» Oleksandr Pozdyeev identified the weaknesses of the Ukrainian national team following the 2026 World Cup qualifier match against Iceland.
Oleksandr Pozdyeev (photo: koloskovalivka.com)— We lack, as they used to say in football terms, «dogs» in defense and the support zone. That is, powerful players who can snatch that ball from the opponent. Super Ivan scored a very important and difficult goal against the Icelanders. It was very hard to catch the ball like that from the turf, but he scored — excellent. Nonetheless, we still lack strength and solidity in the support zone and defense.
We seem to be shifting towards the vision of intelligent defenders. We look at who and how among the defenders starts the attacks, but in fact, we do not possess the ball more than the opponent. That is, often the strong points of defenders, who are renowned for advancing the ball well, are simply neutralized. At the same time, we lose aggression in ball-free work.
I am satisfied with the result, satisfied with the goals. Am I happy that our team adapts and mostly plays as the second number? Personally, as a coach with my vision of football, I do not like this. But the coach works for the result, and everyone has their own vision of how to achieve that result. I do not like playing as the second number, but achieving the result in Reykjavik was great, — said the coach.
