The Ukrainian national team secured a hard-fought victory against Azerbaijan in the fourth round of World Cup qualifiers. In a nominally home match that took place in Krakow, Poland, the «blue and yellows» won 2:1. We discussed the most notable moments of the match with former national team forward Andriy Vorobey.
Andriy Vorobey (photo: instagram.com)— There were only two days separating the matches with Iceland and Azerbaijan. Rebrov made four changes to the starting lineup. Was this justified?
— Of course. Only the head coach sees who is in what condition. After the flights to Reykjavik and back, rotation was needed. I think Serhii Stanislavovych did everything right. The only thing I expected was that Ivan Kalyuzhnyi, who played well against the Icelanders, would start. But the coaching staff refreshed the squad — and it worked.
— Ukraine was considered the undisputed favorite of the match.
— Yes, and that was logical. Caucasian teams, including Azerbaijan, are traditionally strong at home, but in Krakow, everything depended on us. In Baku, by the way, the pitch was bad — that could also have affected the result of that game.
— What was the first half like in Krakow?
— You could see the mood and energy of our guys. They immediately went forward, shooting a lot — you rarely see such in the national team. Yes, there were defensive errors — from Matviyenko at the start and from Zabarnyi at the end of the half. The conceded goal before the break was unnecessary, but overall we played a strong first half.
Regarding our goal, I’d like to highlight Ruslan Malinovskyi. His «dropping» delivery from a set piece led to an own goal after Hutsulyak’s header. That’s skill. As once with Serhii Nazarenko — they are similar in style.
— What else caught your eye?
— We moved away from excessive ball control. There were many long passes, a desire to quickly deliver the ball to the opponent’s goal. Azerbaijan packed the defense, but our guys had a huge desire to win — I didn’t see that in Baku.
— Nazar Voloshyn appeared in the starting lineup for the second consecutive time. Can he replace Mudryk?
— They have different styles. Mudryk is faster, but Voloshyn played well in the matches — he worked hard, pressed, played with great desire. That’s the main thing.
— Ruslan Malinovskyi returned after a long pause. How would you evaluate his performance?
— Ruslan really missed football. His brilliant matches in Reykjavik and Krakow effectively brought us six points. He is experienced, sees the field, has a powerful shot, and is not afraid to take responsibility. He’s a key player for the team.
— What didn’t you like about the national team’s play?
— The biggest problem is ball recovery. In the 4−5−1 scheme, players often just watch the opponent instead of actively recovering the ball. The same story is in European competitions.
When fresh players came on in the second half, they did not strengthen the game — Mykhailichenko, Bondarenko, and Shaparenko essentially disappeared from the field.
— Serhii Rebrov has been actively criticized lately. How does he handle it?
— We traditionally have unsuccessful starts — both in the Euros and now in the WC qualifiers. Then we have to catch up. But Rebrov absorbs the pressure. In my opinion, he needs to trust the young more boldly — fresh blood is always needed.
— Is it realistic to take second place in the group?
— If we can’t beat Iceland at home, it will be difficult at the World Cup. But we have to believe. In November, we have to beat the Icelanders. Then France in Paris, but they are not robots, just people. The French are stronger, but as Viktor Prokopenko used to say, «don’t look for logic in football.» I clearly remember the fall of 2013 when we beat France 2:0 at home. Anything is possible — the main thing is to believe in ourselves.
