Former goalkeeper of «Karpaty» and «Zorya», and currently one of the leaders of the Lviv FC, Andriy Tlumak shared his impressions of the victory of the Ukrainian national team over Icelanders in the final match of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers (2:0).
Andriy Tlumak«For a long time, the rivalry in Warsaw resembled a tug of war and it was difficult to give anyone an advantage. In my opinion, the Ukrainians managed to achieve a breakthrough, primarily thanks to the reliable play of their goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin.
If we had conceded first, I’m convinced that the dreams of getting into the global forum would have had to be abandoned. However, the „Benfica“ goalkeeper saved us from trouble in several episodes, and his saves boosted his teammates' confidence, and they, in the end, brought the matter to the desired victory.
In the offensive operations, Viktor Tsyhankov shone, returning to action at the right moment. His unconventional actions often put the Icelanders in a difficult position, forcing his partners to play with determination.
And finally, let’s talk about Serhii Rebrov’s joker — Oleksii Hutsulyak. I had the opportunity to work with him at „Karpaty“ before and I know what a talented footballer he is. He just needs to always be motivated.
In the national team, Rebrov found the right approach to Oleksii, he is charged for the fight, and today it is already difficult to imagine the country’s main team without him. Even in Warsaw, Hutsulyak came on as a substitute at the end of the match, but it did not prevent him from making a decisive assist and scoring a goal. Let’s hope that the collaboration between Rebrov and Hutsulyak will continue to be so productive.
Still, the group stage of the qualifiers is now history. There were successful matches for the Ukrainian team, yet there were also failures. That’s why it is necessary to work on correcting mistakes, because there is no time for a slow start: in the playoffs, the loser is immediately out,» Tlumak concluded.
