Belik: All of Sergei Stanislavovich’s substitutions in the match with Bosnia worked, and that’s the main thing. If we had lost, then it would have started

Ukrainian national team won in semi-final match of the playoff round selection for the European Championship, winning in Zenica team of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We discussed all the significant moments of the game with the ex-player of the national team of Ukraine, and now head coach of Shakhtar Donetsk (U-19) Alexey Belik.

See also: Bosnia and Herzegovina – Ukraine. Goal video and match review

— Before the game, the starting line-up of our team was quite predictable. Perhaps, with the exception of the goalkeeper position in the supporting zone. What do you think of the choice of Lunin and Brazhko?

— It so happened that now there are three good goalkeepers in our team – Lunin, Trubin and Buschan. All three goalkeepers have regular playing practice. I think Lunin’s advantages are that, firstly, he plays in a stronger Spanish league and plays in a great club. Of course, the name Real (Madrid) influences everyone, but Andrey Lunin has earned a place in the Ukrainian national team with his work. He won the competition against Kepa, and Courtois’ injury certainly helped him. The choice of goalkeeper for this match is the prerogative of goalkeeper Rustam Khudzhamov. He sees everything in the training process.

As for the appearance of Vladimir Brazhko in the start, I did not expect this. It seemed to me that Sidorchuk, Shaparenko or Malinovsky could play in this position. These three players have extensive international experience. Yes, not all of them are used to playing in the supporting zone, but they could cover this position. However, Sergei Rebrov started the powerful Brazhko, who skillfully plays against tall opponents. He also played confidently against Dzeko several times, positioning his body correctly.

— Over the past 10 years, all defensive midfielders were from Zaporozhye – Stepanenko, Sidorchuk, and now Brazhko. How to explain this?

– I don’t know (laughs). Yes, all these guys are students of Zaporozhye Metallurg, who are used to playing defensively, maybe that’s why. In general, Brazhko had a good match, although our team’s play itself was far from the best quality. We won a strong-willed victory, but with what nerves.

— Why, in your opinion, did the first half pass without shots on goal, since Lunin and Shekhich never entered the game?

“The cost of a mistake in such a match was extremely high. This is the playoff stage, where everything is decided in one evening. Bosnia and Herzegovina head coach Savo Milosevic played with three central defenders for the first time. And it’s difficult to play against such opponents.

When the Ukrainian players had the ball, we were more confident, but we spent too long looking for options to continue our attacks. In general, Zinchenko and Sudakov had good control, but it was almost impossible to get the ball to Dovbik. I noticed that Mudryk and Zubkov often moved back in search of the ball. We were unable to break the hosts’ defensive line in the first half, where the three central defenders were helped by two more laterals. And we did not force this massive defense to make mistakes.

The hosts played more vertically, constantly putting pressure on the two forwards – Dzeko and Demirovich. Edin Dzeko, an experienced 38-year-old striker, skillfully clung to balls, earning standards at the goal of our team.

— What thoughts did you have in the 56th minute of the game, when Matvienko cut the ball into his own goal?

“It was clear that nothing had been decided yet. We had a lot of time to recoup. However, we again played without a goal. It was only in the 75th minute of the meeting that Mudryk hit Shehich on target for the first time. And even such a shot from 30 meters makes the opponent nervous. You already need to cover the kicking player and reorganize in defense. Only at the end of the meeting Mudryk dispersed our attack, throwing Efim Konoplya into the breakthrough, who shot at Yaremchuk.

— Why didn’t Sergei Rebrov make a substitution until the 76th minute of the match, because we were losing and something needed to be changed?

— All of Sergei Stanislavovich’s substitutions worked and that’s the main thing. Now, if we had lost… Then it would have started. And it’s logical that Roman Yaremchuk, a solid forward, entered the field.

– You are a former striker, which of the attack line players did you like better in this match – Dovbik or Yaremchuk?

— I can’t help but praise Artem Dovbik. He was guarded by two defenders and a third player of two partners insured him. It’s difficult to play like that. However, there are also questions for Dovbik; we need to open up better.

As for Roman Yaremchuk, he benefited from playing in La Liga. In Valencia he played differently. Often in Spain he plays in a formation with two forwards, so Yaremchuk feels like a fish in water here. And healthy competition between Dovbik and Yaremchuk helps them both. If Artem scores 15 goals in La Liga, then Roman can score the same. All this is for the benefit of the Ukrainian national team.

— Do you agree with the opinion of the fans of our team that MVP match was Roman Yaremchuk?

– Undoubtedly. Coming on as a substitute, Yaremchuk scored the most important goal, and even gave an assist to Dovbik. From my own experience I know how difficult it is to come on as a substitute in such matches.

— Can our head coach put Dovbik and Yaremchuk in the starting lineup for the game against Iceland?

– Anything can happen. There should be a discussion among the coaching staff. I remember that Roman Yaremchuk played as a false nine in the qualifying match against Portugal. He can also play on the left, roughly in Mudryk’s position. Roman has speed, we saw it in the episode with the second goal.

But here it is important to study the game of the Icelandic team, to understand how they operate. So far I cannot form an opinion about the performance of the Icelandic national team – for this I need to see several of their matches and analyze everything. You need to understand that it will be difficult against the Icelanders, they give little space to their opponents.

— Were you surprised by the fact that our coaching staff entrusted three debutants to play in this match – Brazhko, Gutsulyak and Taloverov?

– No. Everyone who was called up to the national team deserved it for their performance. The guys need to be given a chance, even if it’s a super important game.

— Our team has a very important game ahead in Wroclaw, Poland, with Iceland. How do you see this fight?

— As I already said, our coaches need to carefully study the opponent’s game. We didn’t meet them often. It is clear that the Icelanders have many football players playing in European clubs. Some play in Italy, others in Germany and France. The same Gudmundsson, who scored three goals for the Israeli national team, plays in the Italian Genoa together with Ruslan Malinovsky. The character of Icelanders is familiar to everyone. It is clear that our guys will not lack motivation – everyone wants to play in the final part of the European Championship. It’s probably good that we will play in Poland, where many Ukrainian fans will come to the match. Now we still need to restore all the guys so that they are fully prepared for this meeting.