Ukraine national team defender Vitaliy Mykolenko commented on the victory over the Iceland national team (2:0) in the final, 6th round match of the group stage of the 2026 World Cup qualifying tournament, which advanced the 'blue-yellow' to the playoffs of this campaign.
Vitaliy Mykolenko— Emotions are positive. Very happy. I felt such a thrill when we scored the second goal when the match ended. I looked at the stands. It was thrilling to see that.
— Anatolii Trubin’s save. What did you feel at that moment, and did you believe at that moment that we had to push Iceland?
— At that moment, I got a little 'tight', it became scary. Tolia is great. I think today he is not the only lion of the match.
— We are used to choosing the 'Lion of the Match', but for me, it’s the 'Lion of the Selection.' For me now, this is that leader, the charisma of the national team. How much do you feel that you are truly a leader and captain of this team?
— I wouldn’t make such hasty conclusions, but before the match, I caught myself thinking that earlier, I worried more about my game, and now it’s a slightly different excitement before matches. you are responsible not only for yourself but also for the team because I’m one of the leaders, probably. I don’t know if I can say that about myself or not. Now I understand more experienced players who were earlier, what they experienced before the match. Now it’s the same before matches.
— Before the match, the Ukraine team players said they didn’t feel that, but it seems to me it appeared when they couldn’t score in the first half, and a draw suited the Icelanders. Was there a certain psychological tremor?
— Always, when you play to win, it’s somehow easier. When you play and understand that a draw suits you, you slack off a bit. We knew we would be fresher, that we would have chances. We realized them, and they didn’t. If we had scored in the first half, it would have been a completely different game. Maybe we would have played on counterattacks and scored even more goals, but today it’s 2:0. We haven’t played at zero this year, and we are ending on a high note.
— They always choose the 'Lion of the Match', but if you were a fan and choosing the 'Lion of the Selection', who would it be?
— Honestly, I don’t even remember the last camp, who played well. Ruslan Malinovskyi, as one of the guys said, brought charisma to the team. Today there was a team in the locker room, a team on the field. Everyone felt it. The stands are also our team, the 12th player. Honestly, I got an enormous thrill from today’s match.
Roman Kotlyar
