The first captain of the independent Ukraine national football team, Yurii Shelepnytskyi, shared his impressions of yesterday’s match in the final, 6th round of the group stage of the World Cup 2026 qualifying tournament between the national teams of Ukraine and Iceland.
Yurii Shelepnytskyi— After Trubin’s incredible save, where he deflected the opponent’s header with his hand from above, I told myself: we will win because Fortuna is on our side, — noted Yurii Hryhorovych. – Trubin deserves a monument!
— Considering Serhiy Rebrov’s special strategy, where the main focus was on the match against Iceland, how can it be assessed?
— This means the coach was right, and it was the correct strategy. Against Iceland, our team spent a lot of energy. The Ukrainians literally hit a wall.
— The Icelanders also spent a lot of energy…
— They were forced to play practically with the same lineup for the second match in a row, and they couldn’t keep up with the pace set by the Ukrainians. The Iceland team noticeably dropped physically in the second half. If it weren’t for the impressive saves by the Icelandic goalkeeper, the visitors would have conceded much earlier.
— Who pulled the Ukraine national team?
— Tsymbalyuk and Zubkov played a significant role — each on their flank. They broke through the opponent’s defense, shot, and crossed. The players who had to miss the match against France by the coach’s decision — Matviyenko, Mykolenko, and Konoplia — deserve compliments. Malynovskyi and Vanat did a significant amount of work, and Kaluzhnyi did the dirty work.
— How did Rebrov’s substitutions influence the game?
— They were timely. The Iceland team especially lost pace and began to make more mistakes after the 65th minute when the body reaches its breaking point. Hutsulyak, the rescuer-magician, and Yaremchuk, who knows how to put maximum pressure on the opponent’s defense, came out for us. After that, the Icelanders were already in trouble… I really liked the Ukrainian national team’s determination.
But I consider Anatoliy Trubin the best player of this match — he saved our team from disaster several times, and that volleyball save is still in my mind, it was incredible.
The game against Iceland was a real final in terms of plot, emotional content, and dedication. The Ukraine national team gave our people a bit of happiness elixir, and most importantly, positivity to our soldiers — let the guys at the front truly rejoice.
— What should we expect in the World Cup 2026 qualifying playoffs?
— There will only be tough opponents there. Before this qualification, one would hear, like, what’s with Iceland… But you see, what opponent we got. Among the teams that also made it to the playoffs, the national teams of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Ireland impressed me. The Bosnians earned this right in a tough and emotional struggle, and the Irish — it’s hard even to describe… The way they beat Portugal and Hungary — deserves respect.
I don’t think it will be more difficult for us in the spring. Our legionnaires will have match practice. I hope Shakhtar will qualify for the Conference League playoffs and will be in good shape by March. So, we are waiting for the opponent!
Oleh Semenchenko
