Former head coach of Kolos Kovalivka, Oleksandr Pozdeyev, analyzed Ukraine’s national team performance in the recent World Cup 2026 qualifier against France (0:4).
Oleksandr Pozdeyev. Photo — koloskovalivka.com— On the day of the national teams' match between France and Ukraine, our former national team forward, Viktor Leonenko, stated that France’s second team is stronger than Ukraine’s national team. Why does he have such an opinion about our main team?
— Viktor Yevhenovych always speaks critically. Everyone understands that the level of French national team players is beyond our reach right now.
— Another topic discussed before the game was Matviyenko and Malinovskyi not being included in the squad for this match. Was Serhiy Rebrov considering the importance of Sunday’s game — Ukraine vs. Iceland?
— Of course, Serhiy Stanislavovych analyzed everything in advance. Though, to be fair, starting Matviyenko and Malinovskyi in Paris wouldn’t have changed the situation globally. We simply don’t have the game resources right now.
It seems to me that in recent years, the Ukrainian national team is approaching the level of the Faroe Islands' team, not the leaders of European football. And I mean the old Faroe, not the current one that defeats teams like Montenegro and the Czech Republic. Now, we cannot create dangerous moments at the opponent’s goal, defended by Mike Maignan.
— Moving on to the game, why did our head coach choose a formation with three central defenders — Zabarnyi, Svatok, and Mykhailko?
— Serhiy Rebrov wanted to close zones in front of his penalty area. The saddest thing is that the Ukrainian national team lacks a counter-game. And we haven’t even discussed Anatoliy Trubin’s confident play, who made several great saves.
It’s clear that Ukrainian football is weak now and cannot compare with French football. But our players cannot beat opponents one-on-one; we fear everything. Imagine, if we attack and take risks, what if we lost 15:0? No, of course not. As it stands, our national team’s game cannot be pleasing to anyone.
— Despite all this, the teams went to the break with the score at 0:0…
— Still, the French goals were imminent. They were constantly attacking, playing easily and confidently. Ukraine played without the ball, and that couldn’t go on indefinitely. The midfielders couldn’t make two or three accurate passes in a row, placing too much burden on the defenders, and conceding a goal was just a matter of time.
— After Kylian Mbappe scored from a penalty, our team simply fell apart. Why?
— Our national team lacks a real leader, a player with grit and character. Everyone seems to be trying on the football field, attempting to follow the head coach’s instructions. But there’s no emotion during the game. We played in Paris, pleased French football fans, as their team secured a World Cup spot yesterday. And we have a generation in football now…
Recalling earlier years — Luzhnyi, Shevchenko, Rebrov, Voronin, Rotan, Yezerskyi always set an example for other footballers. They challenged everyone on the field. Yes, they didn’t win titles at the national team level, but they gave no ground to anyone. And now, it seems to me, the current Ukrainian national team’s players don’t believe they can beat the French team.
— The statistical indicators of the France — Ukraine match are impressive: shots — 25:0, on target — 10:0. How can this be analyzed?
— It wasn’t Ukraine’s youth team that came to Paris for the World Cup qualifying game, but the national team. We have fantastic players from Shakhtar, Dynamo Kyiv, and top European leagues. They all earn enormous sums, except Mykhailko, we had no debutants on the team. All our guys have played many important matches at the national team level.
Can we attempt to shoot on goal three times? We can’t buy someone for the national team; we can only foster young talent. So changes need to be made on the coaching staff. I don’t call for Rebrov’s dismissal, but changes are needed. Things can’t continue like this for long.
— Next Sunday, our national team will play the final group stage match. Warsaw will host Ukraine vs. Iceland. Can we win and make it to the playoffs?
— I would like to believe that. Everyone understands that, based on the standings, only a win suits us, while a draw suits Iceland. A victory will soothe everything: the failure in Baku and the loss in Paris. I believe the current Iceland team is within the Ukrainian national team’s reach.
I’m convinced that we need to play from a position of strength. It’s just that nobody today can say which starting lineup Serhiy Rebrov will field on Sunday. Of course, our coaching staff already knows how to counter the Icelandic team. We defeated them in Reykjavik a month ago.
The most important thing for me is that Ukrainian national team players act aggressively, both in possession and without the ball. Ruslan Malinovskyi’s experience will help us here. His long-range shots can also bring goals. If short and medium passes do not open the opponent’s defense during the game, long passes must be tried. We must try everything and take risks. Playing without attempting a single shot on goal — that kind of game is not what we want to see.
