Yarmolenko and the rest: when all the records of the national team will submit to Andrey and who can follow him

The national team of Ukraine is preparing for the third basket of the draw and the “second year” in the second division of the League of Nations. But even the frustration after the devastation of a draw with Scotland does not negate historical records and statistical interestingness. Andriy Yarmolenko forced us to talk about them, who caught up with Andriy Shevchenko in terms of the number of matches played in the national team, and yesterday displaced him from second place in the historical ranking.

Yarmola is already the best in assists and “goal + pass” in history, he has only a few goals left for the goalscoring record, and in the official history of the national team, he is honored as the new record holder in matches, given the annulment of Tymoshchuk’s achievements by the decision of the UAF FTC.

But here’s what we’re interested in. Our great generation is leaving – Pyatov has already completed his performances, Stepanenko, Sidorchuk, the same Yarmolenko are entering the last seasons. And who is next? Sport Arena understands which of the young can aim at historical records and how many years to wait for this.

So, point one. Match record

Before the benchmark set by Tymoshchuk, Yarmolenko is 32 matches away. He usually holds 6-8 matches a year, in the most difficult years 10-12 matches. Therefore, Andrey will have to dust for at least 3.5 years before such an indicator. He will be 33 next month. With living and progressing Tsygankov, Zubkov, Mudrik, Shved, this is the hardest challenge.

And which of the young will be able to claim the “centurion”?

In eighth place out of the “conditionally active” is Evgeny Konoplyanka. The 33-year-old Cracovian winger has made 86 appearances, six matches before Shovkovskiy and 12 before Gusev. Of those who actually play – Taras Stepanenko. The 33-year-old defensive midfielder has played 73 matches. He is still important for the national team, but realistically we understand that Stepanenko and Sidorchuk are people for the next selection, then one of the young ones must support their great initiative.

Let’s take Zabarny as an example. If the “football God” gives him sports longevity, stability and health, he will be able to play an average of 8-10 matches for the national team per year. Now he is 20 years old. The central defender is now playing quite calmly until the age of 32-35. Hypothetically, in his full career, Ilya can aim at the record of the “zeroed” FTC UAF Tymoshchuk.

Matvienko, Zinchenko, Mikolenko, Shaparenko, Tsygankov and Mudrik have very good prospects to grow to a hundred. For older guys, it’s debatable – at 28-30 years old, you already think of completely different categories.

Let’s move on to point two. Goals scored record

Yarmolenko and Yaremchuk are in the top five, Konoplyanka also has not yet announced the end of his performances for the national team. As you can see, three goals are enough for one great Andrey to catch up with another great Andrey. Theoretically, 2023 can change another record holder.

What about the younger ones?

Zinchenko needs one more goal to enter the top ten. Tsygankov and Malinovsky – two each. Dovbik – three. The top ten now for the scorers of the national team ends at 9 goals. Strictly speaking, the top forward fills so much in one game year of international tournaments. Even a mediocre, continental level striker is capable of scoring so much in 2-3 years. Supryaga, Sikan and Vanat are strikers with inclinations. Supernatural results are not required from them, but at least they can beat Voronin and Huseynov (8 goals), Devic (7) and Leonenko (6 goals) in their careers.

What does Yarmolenko already have in his assets? He is the best assistant in the history of the national team with 23 assists (for Karavaev – 12, for Konoplyanka – 11, for Malinovsky – 6, for Zinchenko – 5). He is the best in the goal + pass system (68 points, 45 + 23). None of the current players have achieved an indicator and half as much. Then there is the statistical gap.

But the good news is that there are a lot of young players in the national team who can “burn” for another 5-10 years. If the Shevchenko team had an average age of 26-27 years, and the Blokhin team – under 28, then Ukraine of the 2022 model fluctuates in the average age of the starting line-up from 24 to 26 years. And in almost every position there are guys breathing down the backs of veterans. Therefore, let’s hope that all records will be rewritten over time, and our national team will get new landmark players. Not for one selection, not for a separate segment, but for many years of reliable play.