Andrea Maldera, head coach of the Ukraine national team, spoke on MEGOGO about the disappointing 0-3 defeat to Northern Ireland in the UEFA Nations League.
“The result always heavily affects the team’s mood, and the players were clearly very downcast. However, I wasn’t angry with them—that’s not the right word. We calmly addressed certain issues related to game discipline and behavior because in the last ten minutes we lost emotional control too much, which should not happen. As for their effort, the players gave their all on the pitch, and I have no complaints there. The scoreline might be a bit harsh considering the overall flow of the match. I urged the team to maintain internal balance and focus on the next game.”
“The team started the match with a very narrow formation and then adjusted by the 20th minute. Did Northern Ireland present something unexpected that forced this change?”
“No, we were prepared for everything and had both plan A and plan B ready. We anticipated attacks through the middle and the flanks. In particular, we planned to overload our right flank to create a numerical advantage there. We reached the opponent’s penalty area regularly—I don’t have detailed stats yet, but we definitely had 20-25 entries. However, chances need to be converted. The biggest blow for us was conceding an early goal, which significantly influenced the course of the game.”
“Could you explain the logic behind the substitutions: who was changed, why, and what you aimed to add to the game?”
“All substitutions were purely offensive because the score forced us to take risks. I took off defender Bondar and brought on Zubkov to add quality and width in attack. Then I introduced two forwards to increase presence in the penalty box; Sikan and Ponomarenko integrated well into the game. Nazarenko came on due to Sudakov‘s injury, and Brazhko replaced Nazarin because the latter was visibly tired.”
“Why didn’t you make any substitutions before the second half when the score was 0-2?”
“The team continued to create dangerous chances, and early in the second half we had two or three sharp moments. I decided to wait the first ten minutes to assess how things developed, although the substitutions were planned before halftime.”
“Two goals were conceded from set pieces. Was this a preparation oversight or a lapse in concentration?”
“Neither. The opponent expertly exploits their strengths and is very proficient at set pieces. Of course, we should have defended more reliably. The third goal was an unfortunate mistake by Riznyk, which can happen in football. The first goal conceded after a corner needs reviewing; perhaps someone lost their mark. We knew the risk on set pieces was high, and unfortunately, it played out that way.”
