On Thursday, November 13, the Ukrainian national team lost to France 0:4 in another match of the 2026 World Cup qualifying tournament. The match took place in Paris. Here is the post-match press conference of the head coach of the Ukrainian national team, Serhiy Rebrov.
— Was the penalty against us the key, turning point of the match?
— I think there were two key moments in this match. The first was the unawarded penalty against France. As far as I could see from the replays, the French player approached with an open leg. To me, it was a penalty. But the referee decided as he did. Then the penalty against us came. These two moments were crucial in the match.
Yes, the French team created many chances in the second half, but this was because our players were visibly tired. In the first half, we defended very well and hardly allowed the opponent to create anything near our goal.
Unfortunately, we lost 0:4, but we have the time and opportunity to rectify this in the match against Iceland on Sunday.
— How would you assess Mykhaylo’s debut and, in particular, what can you say about the situation with his foul, which resulted in a penalty against Ukraine?
— I’m pleased with his debut. He deserved it. Taras played very well, helping in defense, but unfortunately, excessive aggression in our penalty area had its toll. We talked about this with the players, but Mykhaylo is a young player, he goes into challenges. Unfortunately, what happened occurred in the penalty area.
— During the substitutions in the 64th minute of the match, we called Zabarnyi over and talked to him. Were you making tactical adjustments?
— Yes, I gave him instructions because we needed to score, we had to press the opponents higher. And I asked our two central defenders to shift to Cherki and apply high pressing. In the first half, we blocked zones well, but after we conceded, we had to react.
— How do you plan to forget this defeat and prepare the team for the match against Iceland?
— I think the players themselves understood that today’s game, unfortunately, didn’t decide much. With this mindset, they went onto the pitch, but I can’t fault them for not running enough or doing something wrong.
Everyone understands that the next game will be crucial. I’m confident all the guys will be prepared for it and are already getting ready for this match.
— How can you comment on the fact that the Ukrainian national team didn’t take a single shot on the opponent’s goal throughout the match?
— This is the result of not holding onto the ball enough. We controlled it at times, but didn’t bring it to the opponent’s penalty area. Therefore, we didn’t create chances. We attacked with few numbers. France not only controlled the ball, but did so very quickly, and it was extremely difficult for us to play effectively in defense. Because of this, unfortunately, we didn’t create any chances.
— In the first half, Ocheretko took the game upon himself quite well, pushed it forward, but had no support. Why was this happening?
— Because when you defend for a certain amount of time, you don’t have the strength for a counterattack. We told the players both before the match and during the break that it was very important not to defend too deeply. But the opponent’s team forced us to defend very low. Therefore, it was rare to go into counterattacks and set-piece attacks.
— How well did the team execute the game plan?
— I’m satisfied with the first half. Again, there was no plan to sit too low in the penalty area — the opponent forced us into it. The French national team often changed the direction of their attacks. As a result, we were very tired after the first half.
I already said that the players probably went into the match with the mindset that this game didn’t matter much, focusing on standing firm was key.
Oleksandr POPOV