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World Cup-2022. Team
Football.ua looks at how Ukraine managed not to beat Kazakhstan at home.
Ukraine’s team in the third match of the qualifying round for the 2022 World Cup tied with Kazakhstan’s team 1: 1. And if the first such result against the French team looked like an incredible success, then against the Finns the same 1: 1 was already perceived with disappointment, the same score with the Kazakhs is no longer a disappointment, but a disaster.
* The material uses the statistical indicators of the analytical company Instat.
Andriy Shevchenko and his coaching staff understood that in the next game it would be necessary to attack a lot, and so they decided to return to a more familiar scheme with four defenders. On the attacking flanks, the wingers were responsible and our central midfielders acted as insiders. There were four of them in this match: Sidorchuk, Shaparenko, Zinchenko, Malinovsky. There are two forwards ahead: Moraes and Yaremchuk.
From the first minutes of the match, Ukraine began to create a sufficient number of dangerous scoring chances, but Junior Moraes squandered his chances with enviable regularity. That beginning motivated the idea that, with such an advantage, Ukraine would undoubtedly score its own goals. At minute 19, this is what happened. Roman Yaremchuk made excellent use of his opportunity and sent the ball into the far corner. Kazakhstan continued to defend itself with great force and did not really think of attacks. Ukraine, on the other hand, created opportunities and did not see them.
In the second half, Kazakhstan immediately made three changes in midfield. It was clear that the guests, losing on the scoreboard, in the second half of the game would still seek their own opportunities to launch a counterattack. And the Kazakhs really did quite well on several of these outings. Almost the only goal-scoring opportunity for Trubin became a goal scored.
The national team cannot be criticized for the lack of chances and will. Immediately after the conceded goal, Malinovsky found Zubkov in the Kazakhstan penalty area with an excellent vertical pass, which he had to pass Pokatilov. I did not outperform at stake. The only thing for which the national team can be criticized is that the closer the end of the match was, the less danger there was in the attacks of the Ukrainians. At the end of the match, our midfielders began to drift more and more towards individual actions and stopped combining in front of the penalty area. Then Malinovsky, Zinchenko and Marlos alternately, winning the ball for a long time, hitting from outside the penalty area.
One of the main tasks of the coaching staff of the Ukrainian team in the future will be to learn how to hack the opponent’s low defense when the whole team is behind the ball line. Now we are witnessing an interesting process: for many years, the Ukrainian national team was associated with the names Yarmolenko and Konoplyanka. The midfield edges were the strongest side of our team. Both players were excellent at sharpening the game on their flanks, one due to dribbling and non-standard actions, the second due to high-speed passes along the flank. Now you have to be aware of another reality and learn to play without them. The banal roll of the ball across the width of the attack is clearly not what fans of the Ukrainian team want to see.
For clarity, let’s analyze one of the attacks in the 78th minute of the game.
We see how Bogdan Mikhailichenko receives the ball on the left flank of the attack, and the Kazakhs are clearly lined up in two rows of 5 people each. The easiest option for further development of events is to give back to your partner. But we are talking about exacerbations. In order for Mikhailichenko to take constructive action aimed at aggravating the attack, it is necessary to break down the defensive structure of the Kazakhs.
One of the options could be to open one of the players in the attacking group to the free zone between the lines. In this situation, Zubkov or Yaremchuk could have withdrawn, or Marlos could have broken in.
The second option, even more attractive, would be to open the left half flank to the free zone. Mikhaylichenko could have been given the option to sharpen by vertical transmission, but could have had the opportunity for an independent step into the middle. After all, the pull from Zubkov himself could disorient two Kazakhstan players at once.
And what was the continuation of the attack?
Yaremchuk pushed further into the penalty area, Marlos fell back and Zubkov, for some reason, ran into Mikhailichenko’s position.
As a result, Mikhailichenko, surrounded by five Kazakhs, returned the transfer to Marlos. The Shakhtar midfielder moved the ball to the other flank, and there we saw the same static position of the attacking group players and the torment of another side.
It cannot be said that the national team did not make openings to the free zones or does not know how to do so. For example, in the 30th minute of the game, Moraes gives a pass to the semi-flank to Alexander Zinchenko.
This uncomplicated attack turned out to be one of the most dangerous in the match. It’s just that Roman Yaremchuk lacked precision in the final stage of the episode.
At the end of the meeting, there were very few exacerbations of this type. The attackers did not know what to do or where to run. There was a missing player who gave the necessary dynamics ahead with his movements. By the way, one of the best, if not the best, to open up to the semi-bands at UPL for several years now is Dynamo Kiev midfielder Vitaliy Buyalsky. It is a pity, of course, that the national team does not have such a player … Or not?
But even despite our complaints, Ukraine was forced to win this match and had every chance to do so. Only one Junior Moraes has a 0.98 xG score in this match. Overall expected goals: Ukraine – 3.1; Kazakhstan – 0.2.
Such results from the first three matches practically put an end to the ambitions of competing for the first place, but don’t forget that you can reach the 2022 World Cup from the second!
* The material uses the statistical indicators of the analytical company Instat.
Sergei Gorbachenko, Soccer.among others
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