Former Ukrainian national team midfielder Serhiy Popov assessed the 'yellow-blue' team’s play against France in the penultimate match of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Serhiy Popov— In the first game against France, with a 0:2 loss, our team played with four defenders. In Paris, we strengthened the defense with five defenders, but ended up with an even greater 0:4. How can this be explained?
— The starting lineup compared to the first game; it was experimental and semi-reserve. In defense, we saw three new players who had not played together in this combination before, resulting in a lack of understanding. This led to the failure of conceding four goals. Rebrov decided to bolster the defense density, not to allow the fast and technical French players to cross into the penalty area quickly. The connection between Zabarnyi and Svatok, as well as the debutant Mykhaylov, was unreliable due to lack of teamwork. They played such an important game against a very strong team from scratch.
— The same can be said about the midfield. Nazarina’s appearance in the starting lineup was surprising, as he does not have a place in Shakhtar’s main squad.
— This is what I mentioned earlier. The central midfield trio of Nazarina-Yarmolyuk-Ocheretko did not understand each other, were not united, and lacked solidity. While they had strength in the first half, they managed to cover zones, but in the second half, they collapsed, causing spaces to form between the lines, which the hosts took advantage of.
— France in the first half 'helped' us maintain a clean sheet. They developed their attacks almost standing still, rolling the ball from left to right and left again. There was no dynamism and speed, so they could not penetrate the penalty area quickly. Everything changed in the second half when they really sped up, and then our team couldn’t handle the pace.
— It seemed that France played by the principle of — if not now, then later. The Ukrainian team played well in defense in the first half, but there was no counterplay, during which defenders could have breathed a little. During the break, it seems, Deschamps whipped them into shape, and they came out more motivated for the second half, determined to solve the task of qualifying for the final part of the 2026 World Cup. They really turned on the speed, started playing more aggressively, and everything worked out. The substitutions strengthened the French game greatly, especially Ekitike harassed our defense.
— Yes, his run from the center of the field, where he bypassed four of our players, played a one-two with Mbappé, and scored — that’s the beauty of football.
— After the 2:0 score, our team just finished the match, tried to resist, but the forces were not equal.
— In two days — the match of the year, where Iceland only needs a draw.
— It’s clear that the lineup will change completely. I think only two players who played against France will start against Iceland. We need only a win. How to achieve it, how to motivate the players, by what methods — that’s the task of the head coach. We should see a completely different team compared to the match against France. Aggression, pressing from the first minutes, speed — that is the key to our success. If the team does not achieve the result, no one will understand. The whole country is waiting for a victory!
Sergiy Shebek
