Results of the performances of the Ukrainian national team (U-19) for Euro-2018.
The commentator of the channels Football1 / Football2 Kirill Krutorogov has in detail disassembled the game of our young men at the European Championship. The teams-participants of the youth Euro were football players with serious price lists according to Transfermarkt, representatives of European top clubs or staying in notes of scouts of these clubs, or guys already confidently performing in the higher leagues of their countries. Our could not boast anything from this list. Alexander Petrakov gathered the players of the youth teams of Shakhtar and Dynamo, several guys with the experience of UPL, but for the present there are no special achievements at the adult level and the trio from Dnipro-1, who played in the Second League of Ukraine.
When the lot brought us in the same group as the teams of France, England and Turkey, most of us grinned, they say, that's got it,. Hope was only on points with the Turks, third place in the quartet and an attempt to catch on the permit for the U-20 World Cup in the play-off with the third team of the neighboring group. Few people assessed the chances of Petrakov's team higher. The coach himself said in March that the task is a ticket to Mundial, which will be held in Poland next year.
Skepticism and sarcasm in the eternal Zradophiles was added after the unsuccessful performance of the U-19 team at the tournament in memory of Valery Lobanovsky. Few people discounted the fact that there our senior guys, youth teams competed against us, and in junior football it matters. But for the Euro in Finland, the Ukrainian guys turned out to be peasants who play against the general low assessment of their potential and in spite of our global inferiority complex. They wanted to try themselves and prove that they were not worse - they did it.
If you do not take into account the semi-final with the Portuguese, the team Petrakov seemed tactically literate, well-organized, ready to functionally, clearly knowing the opponents and their strong qualities, due to which you can beat the nominal favorites. Playing on the 3-4-3 scheme, which was transformed into 5-4-1, the Ukrainian team acted cold-bloodedly, carefully, perhaps even pragmatically, patiently waiting for its chance.
For comparison, the French planned to play with us, based only on their own strength and capabilities. The triumph of their first World Cup team probably did not just strengthen their faith in themselves and at other levels, but also led to a reassessment of their own capabilities in proportion to the underestimation of the opponent. They stormed our gates, went in a hurry, for which they received sharp, wounding counterattacks.
In this match we could not help the disqualified Safronov, who was replaced by Hemp, previously not considered the main player of this team. And the injured Kashchuk, who left the team's location, was replaced at the base by the younger Tsitaishvili, who did not play in this team before, but was not completely lost in it. He opened the account in the 13th minute. Before that, the French attacked so decisively that it seemed from the outside to be smashed. From the side, but not to our players or coaching staff - they were absolutely ready for such a scenario and knew what to counter in place. This was the main factor in achieving the result. It was a sensible team game on the defensive, aimed long-distance transmission on fast and creative attacking players led to the removal of Sarah in the 64th minute for a foul of last hope. But, despite this, the French were not going to be content with a draw, but continued to go on the assault, and on the 86th minute the Ukrainian team scored the winning goal in a model counterattack. Despite the numerical advantage for almost 30 minutes, the whole game we did not change ourselves, acting as the second number.
The English treated us more seriously and allowed us little from the point of view of creation. Although the game as a whole turned out to be very pragmatic on both sides. Missed by our guys goal was the result of an unsuccessful team play, unorganized in general actions at the standard at their gates. And the aggravation at the opponent's gate happened, basically, after the average transfers from the depth of the field when delegating to them a small group of players. The only goal was scored by Bulets, having brilliantly won single combat with captain Chaloba, having pushed him and knocked him out of an uncomfortable corner from the goalie. Next, we played the result, did not create much, the British had the same moments, but the dedication of Petrakov's wards came to the fore, plus there was some luck.
In the confrontation with the Turkish team should avoid self-confidence, and the team of Alexander Petrakov coped with this. Organizationality, quick transitions from defense to attack with a focus on the gate of others, the desire to end them with blows or at least exacerbation. The only goal of Bouletz does not mean a victory "barely". A quick goal already in the 8th minute and control of the game - perhaps, could have been more, but the heat did not allow - the human factor and the limited composition that played without rotation.
Meeting with the Portuguese became an accident. From the very beginning, from the old organization and care, there was not a trace left. We can assume that the guys were simply squeezed out morally because of psychologically very difficult matches with really strong rivals in the group stage. There is a certainty that we get to Portugal national team in the group, and, for example, the French or the English in the semi-final - the situation would be identical - victory, and then defeat. It's not an obvious weakness in comparison with a specific opponent, but in the maximum available in the tournament segment - it was a length of three matches. At the same time, the potential of our players and teams is really worthy and allows us to compete with any rival.
Let's look at the actions of our team in terms of digital data Wyscout in key matches with nominally stronger opponents.
vs France (2: 1) vs England (1: 1) vs Portugal (0: 5) Possession of the ball 43% 44% 54% Possessions that have reached the other half 49% 40% 46% Possession of someone else's penalty 9% 5% 9 % We note stability in all three matches. And the fact that in the crushing lost semifinals, we even more rivals owned the ball, however, the Portuguese, scoring an early goal, and then and arranging this pogrom in the first half, fully controlled the course of the game. After the break, they acted compactly, in a small area in the defense, giving the ball to us, turning on the energy saving mode, preparing for the final.
vs France (2: 1) vs England (1: 1) vs Portugal (0: 5) Attempts 11 9 9 Target 6 4 5 Blocked 2 1 1 From the penalty area / Intentionally 5/3 60% 4/2 50% 3 / 3 100% Outside the penalty area / Target 6/3 50% 5/2 40% 6/2 33% With five conceding goals from Portugal, only nine hits on goal - very little to say about the theoretical probability break the course of the game or at least about trying to do it. The handicap of the first half, which the opponent obtained for himself, was incredible.
vs France (2: 1) vs England (1: 1) vs Portugal (0: 5) Martial Arts / Won 186/87 47% 212/84 40% 243/105 43% Defensive / Won 77/21 27% 74 / 14 19% 91/23 25% Attack / Won 61/34 56% 64/29 45% 84/48 57% Horse / Won 26/17 65% 46/20 43% 34/16 47% Down / Won 138 / 55 40% 138/43 31% 175/71 41% Strokes / Successful 25/17 68% 32/22 69% 34/25 74% We note that the Portuguese have imposed more martial arts in their attacks than the previous rivals, in fact, and we got involved in them in combat in the attacks more than with the rest, they won more in front and below, and also went higher and better in the strokes, but 0: 5 is 0: 5.
vs France (2-1) vs England (1: 1) vs Portugal (0: 5) Transfers / Exact 310/236 76% 367/301 82% 434/366 84% Forward / Accurate 120/72 60% 131/101 73% 142/102 72% Back / Exact 34/33 97% 56/54 96% 68/64 94% Cross / Accurate 119/102 86% 119/101 85% 167/154 92% Long / Accurate 45/18 40 % 53/26 49% 48/32 67% To the penalty area / Accurate 13/5 38% 25/8 32% 24/13 54% Dangerous / Accurate 11/5 45% 1/1 100% 9/4 44% Again- However, with the Portuguese team Petrakov made significantly more gears than with anyone and showed the best percentage of accurate. But this control is hardly a consolation or a spoonful of honey in a barrel of tar, because the really dangerous moments young Ukrainians created little.
Nevertheless, absolutely surely there is no real reason for criticism of our junior team. The guys made their way to the main round, in the eight, out of 52 applicants. We took part in the final tournament, where there was no place for the Spaniards, the Germans, the Dutch, or the same Croats who, from year to year, skillfully nurtured young football players and integrated them qualitatively into big football. We are never in the group round, meeting with very strong teams. Showed the presence of an obvious game handwriting (for which Respect and Alexander Petrakov, and his coaching staff, and football players), strong qualities and ability to use them. Would lose to the Portuguese 0: 1 instead of 0: 5 - it would hardly be easier. Losing is always painful, especially in the step from the final. This defeat is a painful coincidence of circumstances that probably arose against the background of emotional devastation after a complex group stage. 0: 5 - not an indication of the level of the team compared to the Portuguese. The indicator should be seen in another - these guys could go through two qualifying rounds and leave the group in the final tournament. That is, to surpass the nine rivals who met face to face. At least this way. They won a ticket to the Junior World Championship, which means it makes sense to talk about the continuation of their existence as a team.
And here the most important - the key question is, how many of these 18-19-year-olds will overcome the transition from youth football to an adult and when will this happen soon? How many of them and how soon will they reach the level of the national team? In modern football, 18-19 years are no longer children, it's those who need to start claiming themselves as players who can play at the club level, continuing to develop and hopefully win this football.