Hareide: Perhaps everything was decided by the greater depth of the opponent’s squad. But this is normal when we are talking about such a great nation as the Ukrainians

Team coach Iceland Åge Hareide commented on the defeat from Ukraine (1:2) in the final play-off qualifying for the 2024 European Championship.

“We felt good after the first half, but after the break things didn’t go as we planned. Yes, we had the opportunity to counterattack, but due to our poor positioning we received counterattacks on our own goal.”

“It seemed to me that in the final part of the match the team was tired, but still had a chance to equalize the score. We pushed, but it wasn’t meant to be.”

“Perhaps everything was decided by the greater depth of the opponent’s squad. But this is normal when we are talking about such a great nation as the Ukrainians.”

In the first half, Albert Gudmundsson unexpectedly struck from outside the penalty area, opening the scoring. Ukraine managed to bounce back after the break. Tsygankov processed a long pass from Georgy Sudakov, beat the defender and accurately fired into the bottom corner of the Icelanders’ goal. And towards the end of the match, Mikhail Mudrik connected with Sudakov’s pass and brought victory to the blue-and-yellows.

The Ukrainian national team at the 2024 European Championship will play in a quartet with Belgium, Slovakia and Romania. Euro 2024 will take place in Germany from June 14 to July 14, 2024. The matches of the European Championship will be held in arenas in Berlin, Cologne, Dortmund, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich and Stuttgart.