The left back of the Ukrainian national team speaks about the tactical nuances of the confrontation against Malta and the distribution of responsibilities
Defender of the Ukrainian national team Vitaly Mykolenko shared his opinion about the upcoming confrontation of his team against Malta national team in qualification Euro 2024.
“We spent a lot of effort in the match with North Macedonia, but we still have time to recover. Plus, we played the Macedonians before the Maltese played their match with Italy. I think we will bounce back well.”
“In terms of the game plan, the Malta national team is quite a bit different from North Macedonia. The most important thing is that the Maltese also play three central defenders, so it will be a little easier for us to adapt to a new opponent. The Macedonians have a good attacking line-up, and the Maltese too. They have quality fast players.”
“Are the owners outright outsiders? Our head coach correctly said that when we pay attention to other teams, we will forget about our own. If we go out and demonstrate our level and follow all the instructions, then everything will be fine. If we look too much at others, it will be difficult for us.”
“[В день матча] All players will have a lot of responsibility – and not just the players on the offensive line. When you attack a lot, large areas are freed up in defense. So the responsibility is on everyone, even those who remain as replacements. The match with Malta is not a playoff match, it’s another game in the group, but we know that if we don’t get three points in every game, then we have little chance of qualifying for the European Championship.”
For 24-year-old Mikolenko, the match against Malta could be his 36th appearance in the national team jersey. In the current qualifying round, the Everton left-back played all 6 matches (four of them in full) and received two yellow cards.
On October 14, our national team with Mikolenko in the lineup beat North Macedonia (2:0) in Prague. On the same day, Malta lost away to Italy (0:4).
The Malta-Ukraine match will take place today, October 17, at 21:45. The fight will be judged by the Danish team led by referee Morten Krogh. Sergei Rebrov’s team will enter this match in blue uniforms.
The Ukrainian national team takes third place in Group C of qualification for Euro 2024. Rebrov’s team has 10 points. Italy has the same number, having played one match less. England leads Group C with 13 points.
Source: Sportarena
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
