Defender of the Ukrainian national team Vitaly Mykolenko shared his impressions of the match with Italy (0:0).
“We are really upset in the locker room. Although we played very well, I think. Yes, there were moments in the second half when we could have scored. I think the head coach said correctly that we played on equal terms with the European champions. It’s a very good sign for us that we can compete with teams like Italy.
Our tactics against Italy changed somewhat after the last match. It was much easier, and Zinchenko always helped me and more often helped me 1 on 1. We were, perhaps, fresher than in the last match with them. It was easier to cover these lines and holes in the defense.
The Italians played the same way somewhere. Because we changed our tactics when coming out of defense and defending without the ball… I’m not a coach, but it was easier for me because of these tactics.
Penalty? You know better, you saw the replay. It seemed to me that at this pace Mudryk threw the ball and there was a foul. But I later talked to Barrella after the moment – he said that first they played the ball, then they played the foot. I don’t know if this is true, I can’t give any analysis.
14 points in this selection? To be honest, it makes no difference how many points were scored during this group stage. We still didn’t go out directly. It’s a little sad that it didn’t work out, but I’m very proud of our team.
I would like to thank all the staff, everyone who prepared with us. We actually did very well in this qualification, but we were unlucky. I think we did it very well.
Next opponents? There will be a draw, I saw which teams will be there. We kept this match in mind, so I didn’t count on the playoffs before this match,” Vitaly Mykolenko said in an interview with Suspilna sport.
