Opening of Ireland: three centre-backs, expected rotation, surprises from Petrakov

But such a thought came to mind: of the three teams of the British Isles, with which fate brought Ukraine together in June, it was Scotland that was the strongest. But the “tartan army” was not lucky that our team played with it first, in the freshness – it was later with Wales, tired, did not rotate, it was later with Ireland that they ventured into tactical restructuring.

The only pity is that this is an ordinary match in the League of Nations – a weak and faded group, and not in a decisive duel with Wales. It would be there to look at the “mirror” three center backs, and at Mudrik and Dovbik from the first minutes. Ireland, having loaded Lunin with work, was very lame in the quality of performance. The Irish did not have any level, not like Bale and Robertson, even Christie, Armstrong, McGinn. Pretty “blown away” wingers and weak attackers at the end. It was like we were back in 2016, but Gareth McAuley was now played by Shane Duffy.

After the playoffs of the World Cup – in fact, purgatory before the gates of paradise – the level B of the League of Nations seemed like a sump, but for the team, which a few days earlier lost the dream of a whole generation, this is what you need – for moral satisfaction and psychological rehabilitation.

Well, okay – we won, we drove and put a tick. This is also necessary in this situation.

Now, frame by frame.

The personnel and tactical search of Petrakov led to the renewal of the squad, but the news about the injuries and illnesses of Bushchan, Sobol, Stepanenko and the rest of Yarmolenko and Yaremchuk gave a chance to prove themselves to the guys who had previously kept quiet on the bench.

Pain points are obvious – a defensive midfielder, a right-back, a forward. The instruments of the experiment are unchanged – a game of three center backs. It remained to guess who exactly the coaching staff would decide to try out. There was only one surprise – Kacharaba on the flank, even though he had previously tried out as a right full-back in Slavia and even the youth team at Petrakov himself.

Of course, putting the center back on the flank is not the same as making him more reliable – the very fundamental principles of the work of these two roles differ, both in selection and in positional orientation. Kacharaba diligently backed away and blocked the space, but on the length of the flank he looked unconvincing in several sharp attacks at once. It is simply unusual for him to be responsible for such a length of distance, and he really lacks speed for constant working out through the curb, like Karavaev.

Taras, of course, is a fighter – a phantom goal proves that he is ready to be useful at any point on the field. But in comparison with his flank “colleague” Kristi Kacharaba noticeably sags: -22% accuracy of passes, fewer strokes and even tackles. Direct counterpart Stevens, having lost, in general, his flank, also showed more accurate and accurate work with the ball.

So we haven’t solved the problem of the right-back yet. And even if there were questions with Ireland, then in the matches of the highest intensity and high-speed load, Kacharaba on the right flank would be generally in the pen.

The return to the game of three centre-backs, which Petrakov practiced at the beginning of his work in the national team, was due to the difficult experience of matches with Scotland and Wales. I thought – and if the national team had played a sparring with an opponent at least at the level of Ireland during the preparation for the playoffs, Gareth Bale would have played against us in a completely different way! ..

So far, these are not the 3-4-3 that are nominally declared regarding our team – it is rather a 5-4-1 with rather asymmetric flanks, where the average location and depth of involvement in the attacking actions of the left side significantly exceeds the right line (all of us we understand how alien this robot is, acting Kacharaba, and how much Mikolenko is already pumped in it).

The three centre-back formation, so attractive against strong opponents with explosive wingers, still leaves a serious flaw – that in their clubs most collections do not play this formation. This leaves an imprint on the interaction and reliability of the entire line. This was especially felt in the failed beginning of the Irish match, when the number of unconstrained mistakes and losses went off scale, and the Ukrainian team backed up and retreated, again forcing the goalkeeper to be put into a reshuffle (as if Buschan’s bad experience in previous matches was not enough).

But there is also a good side – even with all the liberties of the Irish at the gates of Lunin, which made him the hero of the meeting, the Ukrainian team managed to achieve the necessary result and maintain a minimal victory. Petrakov has a unique balance of meetings at the head of the national team in his own way: +4=5-1. That is, more than half of all his matches Ukraine ended in a draw. Moreover, in four cases out of five it was a weak-willed draw – when we were ahead in the score and eventually lost victories.

Even though not everything was harmonious in terms of the game, even if a higher-level opponent would certainly punish our blots in the defense and support zone, but it was important to win now and it was very good that we managed to defend one goal of the advantage. The national team in 2022 is like a transitional team.

Without reaching the final tournament of the Mundial, the older generation will lose motivation. Someone will announce the end of an international career. And right now, in June, potentially renewed positions will be played. Lunin, Mudrik, Dovbik, Zubkov, Sirota, Bondar, Popov need to play twice as selflessly, because right now their role in the long-distance team is being decided. While Yarmolenko, Stepanenko, Yaremchuk and other “atamans” are resting, the youth should perform in the League of Nations in such a way that we understand that there is someone to rely on, there is someone to count on, there is someone to root for.

Yaroslav Smelyansky