Three national teams of Ukraine did not fulfill their tasks at once
If we talk about the most offensive or sad month in the history of Ukrainian football, then so far the palm in this rating is firmly held by June 2022. Three national teams of Ukraine at once – national, youth and youth U-19 – did not complete their tasks due to a combination of circumstances. Of course, nodding to “circumstances” in football is a thankless task and not always justified, but there were too many different coincidences.
National team: best match and own goal by Yarmolenko
The final match of the playoffs of the World Cup qualification was perhaps the best in terms of the quality of the game for the blue-and-yellows under the leadership of Alexander Petrakov. However, he will be remembered first of all by the unfortunate own goal of the best football player of the national team of recent years, who dragged the team to Euro 2020, Andriy Yarmolenko, who played great in the semifinal match of the playoff qualification.
See also: Wales – Ukraine. Goal video and match review
This ball remained the only one in the match in which the blue-yellows surpassed the opponent in all respects, but missed out on a ticket to the World Cup, which they had not played for 16 years.
Youth team: not included due to difference
The Ukrainian U-21 national team had an excellent group round of Euro 2023 qualification. Of course, it was difficult to compete with the extremely powerful French youth team with Kone, Camavinga, Badiashiale, Guiri, especially after the illogical 0-5 defeat in the first round match, but Rotan’s wards did everything to get a direct ticket to the final part of the championship continent.
In the return match with the Tricolors, the Ukrainian team, which, as it turned out, inopportunely lost points in the first game with North Macedonia, needed only a victory. Alas, it came out bright and very dramatic, but only a draw – 3:3.
And for a direct ticket to the Euro, only three goals were not enough for the entire tournament. Having scored 17 points in the rating of the best second teams in nine groups, the Ukrainians “received” the difference “+6”: 16 goals scored and 10 goals conceded. The Swiss team, which also scored 17 points, has a +8 difference: 14 scored and six conceded.
U-19: “extra” cards decided everything
Even more offensive was the result of the performance of the youth team of Ukraine in the elite round of qualifying for the European Championship. The blue-yellows, having taken the same results in all respects with their Serbian peers, gave them the first place, and with it a ticket to the final part of the tournament due to more yellow cards. The case, of course, is unique in European football, but no less offensive.
“Such a denouement in my career, of course, was not. After the end of the tournament, all officials closed themselves in the office for half an hour, solving this issue. In their careers, there were also no such cases, so that the two teams had equal performance. It’s a shame that the fate of a ticket to the European Championship was decided by three yellow cards. In my opinion, it would be fairer to count “yellow plasters” in the match Ukraine – Serbia, and not in all fights. But such is the regulation, and nothing can be done about it, ”the coach of the Ukrainian team Vladimir Yezersky lamented after the game.
Source: Sportarena
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
