Shelaev: You can’t find fault with the work of the referee in the Ukraine-Italy match. The only question is with the unassigned penalty kick

Draw in the match against Italian national team in the final match of the group stage Euro 2024 qualification did not allow the Ukrainian team to directly qualify for the final part of the continental championship. We discussed the Ukraine-Italy match, as well as the future prospects of the blue-yellows, with an ex-football player of the Ukrainian national team Oleg Shelaevwho played four matches against Squadra Azzurra.

— Did Sergei Rebrov surprise you with the starting lineup of our team?

– In general, no. Perhaps Nikolai Matvienko’s absence from the main lineup was surprising. Previously, in previous matches, Matvienko always appeared in the starting lineup. Svatok played in his position. The captain of Dnepr-1 played, on the whole, reliably. Alexander did not make mistakes, played tenaciously in his own penalty area, and did not foul in front of the penalty area.

— Luciano Spalletti, coach of the Italian national team, made four changes to his team’s starting line-up compared to the recent game against North Macedonia. What do you attribute this to? With rotation or with a large selection of great players?

— The head coach of the Italians was looking for the optimal composition of his team for this game. Italy has a really large selection of players. The European champions have high-quality football players on their roster. What about four changes? Spalletti made a certain rotation, because the two games were separated by only two days.

— Before this game, you said that the Ukrainian national team could break the negative streak in the matches against Italy. What was your optimism based on?

– Any series will be interrupted at some point. Plus, we see that our team is trying to play football, either against England or against Italy. As for this match, after 10-15 minutes, when Italy had the initiative, our players spent a good period, taking the game to Donnarumma’s goal. And they had two chances to score, but Sudakov and Tsygankov were unable to seal the opponent’s goal. But, in general, the Italians’ advantage in the first half was quite decent.

— How would you evaluate the final 5-2 in shots on target in favor of the Ukrainian team?

– Of course, numbers cannot lie, but we see football with our eyes. What good is a shot from the center of the field at the opponent’s goal? I say this figuratively. In my opinion, the Ukrainian team had two clear scoring chances in this meeting. Sudakov famously struck the goal of Italy in the first half and Mudrik – in the second, after a throw-in. And here Donnarumma was great.

— Are these scoring chances a team game or individual skill of the players?

— Often such moments are the individual skill of the players. But the development of such attacks is a team game.

– Why our guys couldn’t find an antidote to Chiesa. After all, he caused a lot of trouble to our defenders?

— In general, Chiesa’s game has a lot in common with Mudryk. They have similar potential. In this meeting, Chiesa beat Konoplya at speed, pushed our defense closer to Trubin’s goal and crossed to his partners. Not everything worked out for Mikhail in his confrontation with Di Lorenzo.

— It is clear that in the second half our team needed to change something in order to turn the tide of the game. Why didn’t Sergei Rebrov make a substitution until the 80th minute?

— The starting line-up of our team was quite well-matched. It’s hard to come off the bench into a game like this. The guests were happy with the draw and they grabbed it with their teeth. We were only satisfied with victory. Sergei Rebrov began to take risks only towards the end of the match, when he sent Pikhalenok, Zubkov and Sikan, and then Malinovsky onto the field. Towards the end of the game, we threw all our strength into the attack, but… In general, for the image of the Ukrainian national team, the match turned out to be good. For the first time in an official match we did not lose to the Italian team.

— Let’s move on to the episode that happened in the 93rd minute, when the guests brought down Mudryk in their own penalty area. Is this a penalty?

— To be honest, it’s a controversial episode. We see that Mudryk runs towards the ball at high speed and is the first to pierce it further, and then the defender makes contact with Mudryk’s leg. Why did Mudrik fall in one direction and the ball fly in the other? A difficult episode that makes you think. But Spanish referee Gil Manzano, I am sure, listened to the opinion of the VAR referee. He did not go to watch this episode. Although, perhaps it was worth re-checking this episode. In general, this is not a clear violation on the part of the defender of the Italian national team.

— How do you like the style of play of the Spanish referee Jesus Gil Manzano in this match?

— In general, the referee chose one line of judging and constantly adhered to it. He didn’t whistle after every single combat, he let the players play. You can’t find fault with his work. The only issue is with the assigned penalty kick.

— IN Overall, did our team show quality football in Leverkusen?

— Here you need to remember that Italy had an official match with North Macedonia a couple of days before the game with us. We purposefully prepared for only one game. Therefore it is difficult to compare. Definitely, we did not allow the Italians to create many scoring chances. The Ukrainian team played much better in this match than in Milan. This fight will give our coaches food for thought. Overall, we looked decent against the European champions.

— Group standings C fair? There are England and Italy ahead…

– She’s not lying. The standings display the true state of things in the group.

— Our team is facing the Nations League playoffs ahead. Will our chances of making it to the European Championship be higher there than in the group?

– Let’s wait for the draw and understand who we will play with in the semi-finals, and, hopefully, in the final. It’s difficult to talk about this now. The planning horizon is very long. Nobody knows what will happen at the end of March. It is important that our guys avoid injuries. It is clear that the foreign players will be in good shape, which cannot be said about the players who will play on the spring fields in the Ukrainian Championship.

In general, I am pleased that many of our football players playing in Europe are taking on leading roles. Look how Mikolenko opened up, and how Zabarny improved. Tsygankov and Dovbik are magnificent, Mudrik finds himself. In my opinion, the sooner a talented football player moves to a high-status European club, the better for him and the national team.

— Please name the top 3 players of our team in this qualifying round?

— Georgy Sudakov is for me, number one in the Ukrainian national team. He is a fundamental player for our team. Georgy does not shy away from rough work. Due to his speed and power work, he constantly threatens the opponent’s goal and makes a difference. Second on this list is Viktor Tsygankov. This season he became a leader in Girona and transferred this to the Ukrainian national team.

As for third place, let me name two players who equally deserve it. Anatoly Trubin moved to Benfica and I’m happy about it. At a good age, Anatoly found himself in a strong club. He develops attacks well, Trubin plays confidently with his feet, but, more importantly, he plays skillfully in goal. Together with Trubin, Mikhail Mudrik is in third place. An explosive football player who, through coordination and excellent work with the ball at speed, constantly aggravates the situation at the other goal. Mudryk makes a difference on the football field.