“Euro 2016 should serve as a good lesson”

In a third round match of the group stage of the UEFA European Championship, which was held in Marseilles, the Ukrainian team lost to their Polish counterparts 0-1. Our team had a decent first half, conducted a few dangerous attacks, including Andrii Yarmolenko one-on-one encounter with Polish goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, but our player missed the goal. Early in the second half, Jakub Blaszczykowski broke into the box from the right side, moved to the center, and shot the ball into the far top corner, changing the score to 1-0.

Thus, the Ukrainian national team lost all three matches it played at the Euro 2016 and did not score a single goal in the tournament.

Our team’s performance was the worst ever for Ukrainian soccer. For instance, by not scoring in the match with Poland, they achieved a historic “high” of not being able to score in five matches of European championship finals in a row. Ukrainians scored their first and last goals at the Euro 2012 in the match with Sweden. Andrii Shevchenko netted a double on that day. In addition, after the defeat in the match with Northern Ireland, our team was the first to get its participation at the Euro 2016 cut short.

“Yes, we failed at this tournament. We have failed everyone, and above all ourselves. But I do not think this should be an excuse to go into some abyss, to hang our heads low. This Euro must become a good lesson for us, and I hope it will benefit us in the future,” player Oleksandr Zinchenko commented.

Head coach Mykhailo Fomenko said already that the game against Poland was his last at the helm of the national team. Meanwhile, the players themselves admit that the defeat should teach them motivation, commitment, and the need to remake the playing style during the match.

The soccer festival in France is going on, albeit without Ukraine. Poland and Switzerland will face off in a round of 16 as soon as June 25. The match will take place in Saint-Etienne at 4 p.m. Kyiv time.