Wirth: Ukraine had no luck in Wales, now they need to return to Division A of the League of Nations

Former goalkeeper of the Ukrainian national team, and now the coach of Veres Yuri Wirth praised the performance of the country’s national team in the playoff round of the World Cup, and shared his opinion on the future games of the blue-and-yellows in the League of Nations and the start of the new football championship of Ukraine.

– Unfortunately, our team has not fulfilled its main task for today – the Wales team has won a ticket to the World Cup. What did our team lack to win in Cardiff?

– Now the emotions after the game Wales – Ukraine have cooled down a bit. Having analyzed everything, I believe that we lacked one goal scored. Luck and luck accompanied the Welsh. Both June matches, both in Glasgow and in Cardiff, were played by the Ukrainian team at a very high level. In Scotland, our guys showed excellent football, defeating a strong team. But in Wales, they could not convert their scoring chances.

You talked about luck, but you have to earn it, don’t you?

– Yes it is. Judging by the statistics of the game in Cardiff, our team was stronger than the opponent in all components of the game. Yes, and we scored a goal for ourselves. The most annoying thing is that we showed a decent game.

– Often lately we have seen that in paired games the second match of our team was more difficult. What is it connected with?

– I won’t answer for a long period, but both matches were here, for a feast for the eyes. Yes, we didn’t win in Wales and everyone will remember that. In football, the result is primary. In the last game, someone played well, someone a little worse. It always happens that way.

– Why did our attacking line players fail to beat the 35-year-old Wales goalkeeper Wayne Hennessy?

Everyone says Hennessy is man of the match. How many saves did he make – 9 or 10? That evening he became a hero of Wales. From the first minutes he caught the courage. It was his day. The famous Bale or Ramsey did not stand out at all in Wales. And Hennessy stood out, working like a bee.

Let’s move on to the League of Nations. Some fans say: what kind of unnecessary tournament did UEFA come up with, while others say: this is an important tournament for the ranking of national teams. For example, having won in their group, the Ukrainian national team can count on the second basket in the draw for the selection for the European Championship 2024. Is the League of Nations so important?

“This is an important tournament. It is not comparable to control matches. Games with Rijeka or Empoli are one thing, but this official match is quite another. We need to return to group A, where the strongest teams play. Team rating is always important. I know that Alexander Petrakov is a strong motivator and he will be able to set the guys up properly for the game in Dublin. I am sure that the dedication and desire of our guys will be outrageous.

– Immediately after the game in Wales, our head coach said that other players would play in Ireland, not the one who started the matches against Scotland and Wales at the start. Need a rotation?

I think a rotation is needed. We have almost two equivalent compositions. It is very difficult to play the third game in 8 days with one squad. The guys who will start at the match in Dublin will prove that they deserve to play in the first team in the near future.

– Do you think the veterans of the national team: Pyatov, Stepanenko, Sidorchuk should already give way to young guys?

We have older players. As for goalkeepers, everything is simple – Pyatov’s cadence ends, he turns 38 in June. We have young Bushchan, Riznyk, Lunin, Trubin. If we got to the World Cup, then Pyatov should have been given a chance to go to Qatar. As for Stepanenko, who will be 33 in August and Sidorchuk, who is now 31, everything will be decided by the football field. The strongest will play. I believe that talented young people are growing in our country. Shaparenko and company knock on the main team.

– Do you think the game in Dublin will be the most important?

– Undoubtedly. We need to return to group A, where we have already played. I think that the Irish team is not stronger than our team. The mood for the upcoming fight is important.

– Do you consider the Ukrainian national team the favorite of our group in the League of Nations?

– Yes. It’s a pity that we can play at home. In Lvov, all opponents would not have had a chance. But in Lodz, Poland, many of our fans will come to the stadium to support the Ukrainian team. We have grown a galaxy of good players that we saw in recent games in Britain.

“Let’s talk a little about the situation in Veres. When will the team get together for the training camp?

– Together with the leadership of our club, we decided to gather the guys on July 4th. We will hold three training camps in Rivne. We planned to hold 6 control matches. In the near future, 13 of our players are ending contracts with Veres. We communicate with the players and hope to prolong the agreements with most of them. 8 players, I think, will stay with us. Only 2 people are in question – will they stay in Veres or not. We will try to resolve this issue within a week.

As for the new football championship, according to my data, it should start on August 20th. A month and a half to prepare should be enough for us. The first collection will take 10 days, and it will be aimed at restoring physical condition. The second and third collection will be gaming. We want to play friendly matches in Lvov and Kyiv.

– It must be assumed that on the first day of the training camp everyone will be glad to see each other …

“The guys already want to get together earlier. I calculated that from February 23 to July 4, 130 days will pass since we did not see the players. This is a long period of time. Everyone missed the championship of Ukraine. How it will be held – now everyone has a lot of questions. It is important that we defeat the Orkostan rabble on the battlefield.