The Honored Coach of Ukraine, former head coach of the national team of Ukraine, Myron Markevych shared his impressions of the 2026 World Cup qualifying match between the teams of France and Ukraine (4:0), which took place yesterday in Paris.
— Myron Bohdanovych, many experts said that it’s possible to lose to the French, but it’s important to save face. Did we manage to?
— What do you think?
— Probably not?
— I think so too. (Smiles). But even with such a lineup, we could have played more decently. I don’t want to criticize the team too harshly now, as everyone is probably already thinking about the match with Iceland.
— Why couldn’t we play better yesterday?
— It probably lacked confidence. It’s clear that the French are stronger. But again, there were many experienced players in the squad, so they could have put up a fight.
— But we got beaten. Ukraine’s team was down 1 to 25 in shots…
— If you only defend in a match with such a team, sooner or later you will still concede. We could and should have pushed the game away from our goal a little bit. We sat very deep in the penalty area, which is why we got a whole bagful and could have gotten two.
— You mentioned experience, but both Ochertko and Nazaryna lack it in matches for the national team.
— They play in European cups for Shakhtar, which is also a level.
— Was Anatoliy Trubin the best player for Ukraine in the match?
— Probably, yes. He saved his team many times.
— Was Ukraine’s defensive tactic justified?
— With the lineup that took to the field, you can’t invent much. It’s not surprising since Serhiy Rebrov saved the best players for the decisive match against Iceland.
— With such a packed defense, the wing-backs should have been active. But it seemed that Mykhaylychenko and Karavayev didn’t get into the game?
— That’s an understatement. But we shouldn’t blame only them for the loss. Everyone is to blame. If the mindset is only on defense, you won’t see a positive result. There were many losses in simple situations. And such an opponent will definitely punish you for this. The match against Ukraine was a training for France. We needed to play bolder, the result wasn’t pressuring the «blue-yellows» much, but it’s better to ask the coach why the team couldn’t go on the attack.
— Did we crumble after the first goal?
— Essentially, yes. Until the 55th minute we managed to hold on with great difficulty, but then everything collapsed.
— Maybe Serhiy Rebrov shouldn’t have restructured the team’s play?
— It didn’t play a big role. Losing is always unpleasant, but again, the match of the year for the Ukrainian national team will take place on November 16.
— A draw against Iceland doesn’t suit us anymore.
— Our starting lineup will surely change by at least 80 percent. We need to go out and win. Play our best game of the year.
— How should we play our best game?
— Like the French did against us yesterday: press, not allowing the opponent to breathe calmly on their half of the field. It’s important to prepare yourself psychologically. Yes, the game will not be easy since the opponent has quite qualified players, but they also have a lot of problems in defense, I can say this even from the match with Azerbaijan. Furthermore, not so long ago we scored five goals against Iceland.
— What do you think the «blue-yellows» lineup will be for the match of the year?
— It’s hard to say. If everyone’s health is okay, in my opinion, Trubin will again take the place in the goal. In defense, there will be Mykolenko, Matviyenko, Zabarnyi, and Konoplia. In the midfield — Kalyuzhnyi, Yarmolyuk, Malinovskyi, Sudakov, Tsyhankov, and Vanat as the forward.
Serhii Boichenko