“Ukraine disappointed, but luck was on their side”

On Wednesday March 24, the Ukrainian team on the road tied with the French team (1: 1) in the first round of selection for ChS-2022.

Surprise and misunderstanding. This is how you can briefly describe the reaction of the French press to the outcome of the match. In fact, recently, France defeated Ukraine with an astronomical score of 7: 1, albeit in a friendly match.

“Indigestible beginning. Ukraine kept the blues in the 2022 World Cup qualifying home game “, – reads the disgruntled headline of an authorized post The team.

“Despite Antoine Griezmann’s early (but well-deserved) opening of the scoring in the 19th minute, the Blues collapsed and conceded an own goal from Kimpembe in the 57th minute, having drawn Ukraine (1: 1) in the first qualifying match for the World Cup -2022.

The blues’ beating of Ukraine in a friendly game on October 7 (7: 1) seemed to be several light years away. Because this time, in the first qualifying game for the 2022 World Cup, everything ended in a 1: 1 draw.

But the French team could count on a positive result of the confrontation. Mbappé and Giroud attacked, and Antoine Griezmann opened the scoring with a superb left-foot shot in the 19th minute. Griezmann caught the ball after a failed rebound from Zinchenko’s back, despite Pavar’s suspicious offside position ( VAR was not used in the match). Already in the 21st minute Mbappé could have made the score 2: 0, Koman claimed a penalty after contact with Buschan, Giroud had an excellent opportunity to hit his head.

But little by little the French fell into hibernation. And the Ukrainians took their chance to even the score. After Sidorchuk struck from outside the penalty area, underdog Kimpembe cut the ball into his own net.

Then Didier Deschamps made some changes: Pogba and Dembele replaced Giroud and Coman, and then Martial came out in place of the tired Kylian Mbappé. However, apart from the Lucas Hernandez strike, the Blues did not create anything dangerous.

In eleven clashes between France and Ukraine, this is the fourth tie (the first with a score of 1: 1 after two 0: 0 and 2: 2) with six wins for the Blues and a single loss, “he writes. The team.

The post did not ignore the party’s main antihero on the French national team: 25-year-old PSG defender Presnel Kimpembe.

“The referee, a bit more demanding than Mr. Stieler, could have awarded a penalty for a sliding tackle against Yaremchuk in the 43rd minute. As a result, Kimpembe scored on his own goal when he got in the way of the ball after Sidorchuk struck, he would not have even hit the mark. A very disappointing evening for Kimpembe, ”he adds. The team.

Disappointed Blues …

After a good first half and an excellent goal from Griezmann, the Frenchman left without much encouragement. The Ukrainians took the opportunity to equalize the score in the match, Kimpembe scored his own goal “, – says the title of the illustrious edition France Soccer.

“Apparently the French team is a two-sided team. That’s what he showed on Wednesday night at the Stade de France. The match was a long way from the last visit of the Ukrainian team here, when the blue-yellows, affected by the coronavirus, lost 1: 7. However, it seemed that this time, the charges of Andriy Shevchenko were going to have a complicated evening , especially after the first few minutes. The defense of the Ukrainian team was confounded by the sharp jerks of Kingsley Coman, who edged out Nikolai Matvienko.

The fact is that the owners openly abused their superiority over the Ukrainians. They were better both on paper and on the pitch … But the second half had to be played the same as the first. Because in the first 45 minutes the French team looked quite attractive. The hosts’ defense was only slightly disturbed by Mikolenko’s kick in the 37th minute. Defenders Lucas Hernández and Pavar were very active in the attacks.

All of this led to Griezmann’s goal. Serhiy Kryvtsov’s failed header and Serhiy Sidorchuk’s late safety net left enough room for the Barcelona striker, who landed a magnificent shot into the upper corner of Buschan’s goal. The “blues” had some other occasions, in particular, the blow to Giroud, but something was missing to make them happen.

After the break, the game of the French team has changed dramatically. The Blues played passively, which Ukraine took advantage of. After a rare failed clearance by N’Golo Kante, the ball was picked up by Alexander Karavaev and he shot the lucky Sergei Sidorchuk. The footballer was very lucky, because the ball hit Kimpembe after his blow and drastically changed the trajectory of the flight. In minute 57 the score became 1: 1. Unable to react to this, the Blues missed an excellent opportunity to start with a victory in the national team for the 2022 World Cup. We hope that this match is a vaccine against the virus of the complacency of the French team.

The best player of the French team in the match: Griezmann. The worst is Mbappé “, – account about the fight France Soccer.

The blues we didn’t expect

Insipid and boring, France has already lost two points at the start of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup. The next two fights will have to be corrected for this incident “, – the edition is surprised The parisian.

“The French team had ten good minutes, between Olivier Giroud’s shot in the 10th minute of the game before Antoine Griezmann’s goal in the 19th minute. Despite the slim advantage of the hosts, the opponents did not pose a serious threat. Ukraine disappointed, but luck was on their side: the ball that flew over the goal hit the unfortunate Kimpembe, who scored 1: 1 in the 57th minute of the match. Hugo Lloris had one of the quietest evenings when counting each of his 121 nationals, but he missed anyway.

Barcelona will have to reach an agreement: Griezmann works in Catalonia, from time to time he helps the team, scoring 8 goals in the championship, but his real club is the French team. This is the team where he feels at ease, intoxicated by his freedom, his movements, his functions. He scored another important goal, the ball hit the top corner of the Ukrainian goalkeeper’s goal.

In the second half, only N’Golo Kante stood out, but we can’t clone him. To expect a better result, ten more people like him would be needed, ”he said. The parisian.

The French media are very unhappy with the passivity of their team in the second half, but at the same time they are very stingy when it comes to praising the Ukrainian team.

Photographs by Pavel Kubanov (UAF) were used in the material.