Brazhko: I gave all the emotions on the field to the fans and the team

Debutant of the Ukrainian national team Vladimir Brazhko summed up the results of the meeting with Bosnia and Herzegovina (2:1) in the semi-finals of the playoffs of the qualification for the European Championship 2024.

“I was preparing for this, I had a lot of thoughts. I calmed myself down, I was a little worried, but many of the guys supported me, the head coach. He left with a calm head. Yes, there were mistakes, but the main thing is that we won.”

“How emotional is the match? Now without emotions, I left them all on the field. He gave everything to the fans and the team. I tried to help as much as possible, I hope it worked. How do I rate the debut? OK, but there is room for improvement.”

“The first and second zones passed without problems. But in the third zone, when they brought the ball forward, they could not make combinations and create chances. There was a problem with this. In the second half we restructured a little, I started to sit as the third defender for a rally. Zinchenko and Sudakov played as defensive midfielders, more inside players. They and the full-backs had more space. It came out somewhere. Then they changed me, played with two strikers, created chances and scored. I’m very glad that we won, that’s the most important thing.”

“Did you finish the game with five defenders? I was very worried, sat there, and couldn’t help the team. If you are on the field, then you can change something, but if you are off it, then nothing. So I was just worried about the guys, so that we would still win.”

“Fan support? I felt it very strongly. The Bosnians booed us, but we heard our fans, and it turned us on. We know how much they support us in Ukraine, how they see us on TV. Our soldiers are watching, many are getting sick. We played for our country, our warriors.”

The 22-year-old midfielder appeared in the starting line-up of the blue-yellows in the match with Bosnia and Herzegovina in the semi-finals of the Euro 2024 qualifying playoffs. Vladimir became the 295th player in the history of the Ukrainian national team.

The Dynamo midfielder previously played for Ukrainian junior and youth teams. As part of the Ukrainian U-21 national team, Vladimir reached the semi-finals of the 2022 European Youth Championship.

In the qualifying final, Sergei Rebrov’s team will play against Iceland. The nominally home match for Ukraine will take place in Wroclaw, Poland, on March 26. The meeting starts at 21:45 Kyiv time.