The Ukrainian national team was close to winning a direct ticket to the 2024 European Championship. However, the Ukrainian team drew with Italy (0:0), which allowed the Squadra Azzurra to take a place in the tournament.
After the match, the head coach of the “yellow-blues” Sergei Rebrov commented on the performance of his players, noting the team’s performance against the backdrop of the current champion.
“I thanked the players, they did everything, they fulfilled the game plan. In the first half we held back the opponent, in the second we attacked more. The guys are upset, they showed a decent game against the European champion,” Rebrov said.
“In the first half it was psychological, we didn't want to just defend, but Italy forced. In the second half we were more intense and tried to attack.”
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“We had a tough group, we scored the same number of points as Italy. Unfortunately, we did not advance further, but there is still a chance and I think that this qualifying round was very good. The team has a future. I look to the future with optimism; today there was a team that wanted to go further.
Sergei Stanislavovich explained the decision to leave Nikolai Matvienko on the bench, releasing Alexander Svatka instead. He also did not comment on the possible penalty on Mikhail Mudrik at the end of the game.
“Matvienko was left on the bench because we have great competition. We chose a matchmaker and I think we were not mistaken. I didn’t look at VAR, so I can’t comment on Mudryk’s moment now.”
Let us remind you that, even after losing, the Ukrainian national team has a chance to qualify for the 2024 European Championship. To do this, she needs to go through one of the playoff selection paths.
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