Serhii Rebrov’s Bremen advance and Macedonian comeback

First, a friendly match against powerful Germany. And then immediately the Euro 2024 qualifying match against Northern Macedonia. And all this within this week.

And if the first game could be considered a football rehearsal, the match in the Balkans was an exam where there was no chance for error. Since Rebrov came to the national team of Ukraine in a difficult period, when the team had already lost one qualifying match and played the role of catching up…

Debut and goal extravaganza

The result in Bremen was a fancy meal for a football gourmet. There are goals to suit every taste, and sharp moments, and the final 3:3 on the Weatherstadion scoreboard. However, it was hardly worth drawing any far-reaching conclusions about Serhii Rebrov’s debut match. At least because the match was friendly and the opponents allowed themselves to experiment with the line-up and did not set a goal to win. Nevertheless, this game still provided ample food for thought.

In the match against the German national team, Serhii Rebrov demonstrated the ability to respond to current football trends. First of all, it is about attracting players who play the same positions — Tsyhankov and Yarmolenko. The coach of the Ukrainian national team gave Viktor the role of a free artist that is familiar to him in Girona, Spain.

In general, it seemed that Rebrov’s football is when players are not tied to positions, but are constantly looking for space.

In terms of match structure and spirit, Serhii Rebrov’s first match as national team leader can be considered a success. Against Germany, only the closest reserve players caused some concern. For example, key players Zinchenko and Yaremchuk were out of action due to injuries. However, all six substitutes (Vanat, Malinovskyi, Ihnatenko, Sobol, Zubkov, and Pikhalenok) literally disappeared on the field. And in official matches, where the main thing is the result, the role of substitutes is very important.

Intense comeback

The euphoria after the match against Germany seems to have cooled Serhii Rebrov’s team down a lot. After the first half, the Ukrainians were down 0–2 in Skopje. And they were absolutely in the game. The players of the Ukrainian national team’s attacking group spent almost the entire first half without the ball and without any chances.

At the same time, North Macedonia squeezed almost everything out of its moments. Although, by the way, it could have been 0:3. Remember how Trubin pulled out Aliosky’s shot from a standard. Fortunately, this terrible football dream for Ukrainians ended in the second half.

And it was in this game that Rebrov managed to do what he failed to do in the match against Germany. He succeeded in changing the game with substitutions: he put in Vanat in place of Dovbyk, who could not hold the ball, and Konoplia in place of Tymchyk, who simply did not enter the game.

In other words, Plan A did not work, so they tried Plan B. After the game, Rebrov said that the players decided for themselves that they could not play the way they did in the first half. But I think there was a debriefing in the locker room. After all, the first 45 minutes are a real game disaster. In the second half, it was a different Ukrainian team.

Here we can congratulate Zabarnyi and Konoplia on their debut goals for the national team. AndTsyhankov, by scoring the ball, seemed to thank Rebrov for the role of a free artist he had entrusted to him. And Mudryk with his two goals. The match against the North Macedonians can be considered almost the only bright spot for the player in the recent period.

3:2 is a strong-willed victory. Is it possible to draw solid conclusions about the performance of the Ukrainian national team under Serhii Rebrov? Perhaps it is too early… Rebrov is building a new team, where the leaders should be different characters than in the previous selection campaign. Probably Dovbyk, Mudryk, Tymchyk, Konoplia or Sudakov.

They are the ones who must take responsibility and play a key role. Is it worth talking about the chances of Euro 2024 now? Definitely not yet. On Monday, Rebrov will play against Malta, and then we will draw interim results. In any case, everything will be decided in the fall matches. There will be duels with the group’s favourites, the British and Italians. Then the math will be done.