Andrey admits his guilt in the game with Romania and admits to the injury that has been bothering him for several months
Ukrainian goalkeeper Real Andrey Lunin commented on his performance at Euro 2024 in the game against Romania (0:3). The goalkeeper believes that he made mistakes that affected the national team’s further result in Germany.
“Since the war began, football has become special for the country because millions of Ukrainians follow us and want to get some joy. Before the games, we were sent videos, photos, audio recordings, flags… We also saw that our military was camouflaged underground, with weapons, and watching the games.”
“We were watching these videos and hearing the battle cries and gunshots, but they were watching the games! It inspired us, it gave us goosebumps, but it also put more pressure on us. First, we had to get through to the playoffs in March, and we did. And then we wanted to give people the joy of getting through to the second stage, to thank the soldiers who are protecting us… We are very sad that it did not happen, because with the football we showed in the second and third games at the Euros, we deserved more.”
“It’s clear that I made two mistakes. The first one is a technical mistake, and I think it can happen, but it’s a mistake. I know what a goalkeeper’s mistake is and what a striker’s mistake is. A goalkeeper’s mistake is 90% a goal. The second goal was a bad one because I didn’t see the ball coming out and then I lost sight of it halfway because the defender was going to dodge it… I jumped blindly and missed. And that’s why at the end of the game I went out to apologise, it’s the least I could do. I apologised and carried on.”
“It was a shame, because this is the first time that a team with four points does not reach the 1/8 finals. The first match was decisive.”
“We are not children. I also analyze the games and know whether I played well or badly. I was mentally preparing myself for not playing, but I trained 100% in case I did play.”
“It didn’t surprise me that I didn’t play in the second match at the Euro because I had been mentally preparing for it for several days.”
“It happened now, but I had been playing for two months with discomfort in my knees and elbows. I took pills, did special exercises to keep playing… Obviously, I didn’t want to stop because it was my year, it was my time to show the club and the coaches that I was really worth it. I did everything to overcome this pain and finish the year well.”
“I wanted to help and reach the Euros at the top of my game because of everything we talked about, to bring joy to our people during the war… But I’m not saying that what happened was because of these inconveniences. I’m saying that I was sad that despite all these efforts, I didn’t play better in the first game and didn’t continue to play.”
On June 17, the blue-yellows started the continental forum with a crushing defeat to the Romanian national team – 0:3. According to the majority of fans, Lunin could have played much better in two of the three goals conceded.
Edward Iordanescu’s men won the first half by a narrow margin thanks to a goal after intercepting a pass from Andrei Lunin from their own goal, and immediately after the break they struck twice. First, the Romanians counterattacked, and then achieved a rout after a corner kick with the Ukrainian defense inexplicably passive.
The match against Romania was Ukraine’s 12th in the final stages of the European Championship. The blue-yellows suffered their ninth defeat, and in each of the matches they have always conceded. Moreover, the Ukrainian team has conceded three times in the opening match for the second forum in a row.
After the game, the goalkeeper admitted his mistakes. Andrey was personally contacted by his Real Madrid teammates, including Blancos’ number one Thibaut Courtois, as well as the Madrid club’s coach Carlo Ancelotti.
Lunin remained on the bench for the match with Slovakia: he was replaced in the starting lineup by Anatoly Trubin. Sergei Rebrov’s team managed to achieve a strong-willed victory over Slovakia (2:1).
Trubin also played in the third match at the Euro against Belgium. The team of Serhiy Rebrov, who has reached eighth place in the number of matches at the helm of the Ukrainian national team, played a good match against a top opponent.
The blue-yellows lost ground to the Belgians, but outshot their opponents in the number of shots. The result was a goalless draw and the first “dry” match at the Euro in the history of the Ukrainian team. But this result was not enough to get through to the playoffs.
In the parallel match, Slovakia and Romania predictably ended in a draw (1:1), and a unique situation developed in Group E: all teams scored the same number of points, four each. Rebrov’s team turned out to be the fourth odd man out due to the worst goal difference (2:4). For the first time in the history of the European Championship, a team with four points took the last place in its group.
According to the specialized portal Transfermakt, the Ukrainian national team is the team with the most expensive rosterwhich was eliminated from Euro 2024 after the first stage. At the same time, the Ukrainian national team is the second youngest team in Euro 2024 to be eliminated after the group stage. The average age of the blue-yellows is 26.4 years.
Source: Sportarena
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