The Ukrainian national football team surprised its fans by winning the first match of the Nations League play-offs against the Belgian national team. The nominally home game, which took place in Murcia, Spain, ended with a confident score of 3:1 in favor of the Ukrainians, writes IZ. This victory was the result of an incredible comeback, when our team recovered from a goal conceded in the first half and eventually won thanks to two goals scored in the second half.
Content
- Start of the match: Ukraine dominates
- Conceded goal and changes in the lineup
- Second half: an explosion of emotions and a comeback
- Lightning Double Strike
- Results and forecast for the future
Start of the match: Ukraine dominates
From the very beginning of the match, Ukrainian players demonstrated a focus on attacking play, trying to establish a territorial advantage. The Belgians could not get out of defense, and during the first five minutes they did not conduct a single attack. In the 6th minute of the match, Viktor Tsygankov, after a great pass from Yefim Konoply, back-heeled Roman Yaremchuk, who shot dangerously at Thibaut Courtois' goal. However, this moment did not lead to a goal, and the Belgians were forced to retreat.
After some time, the Belgians were able to regain control of the game, organizing the first serious attack on Andriy Lunin's goal, but Ukraine continued to act aggressively, stopping any attempts at attacks from their opponents.
Conceded goal and changes in the lineup
By the 25th minute of the match, Ukraine coach Serhiy Rebrov was forced to make the first substitution due to the injury of Yefim Konoplya, who suffered a leg injury. He was replaced by Oleksiy Sych.
The Belgians gradually began to seize the initiative, which led to another danger near Lunin's goal. In the 40th minute, Trossard was fouled by Tsygankov, which led to a free kick. De Bruyne passed the ball perfectly, and Romelu Lukaku, leaving Lunin no chance, headed the goal.
Second half: an explosion of emotions and a comeback
Belgium continued to attack at the start of the second half, and it seemed that the Ukrainians were losing control of the game. However, in the 59th minute, Ukraine got a chance to equalize the match when Oleksandr Zinchenko took a free kick, but his shot went off the post.
The key moment came in the 62nd minute, when Oleksiy Hutsulyak appeared on the field, immediately making the opponents nervous. A few minutes later, he took the ball away from De Winter and scored accurately, tying the score – 1:1! This goal was a real boost for the Ukrainian team, which felt a wave of emotions and aspired to win.
Lightning Double Strike
Left without confidence in defense, Belgium began to make serious mistakes, which the Ukrainians brilliantly exploited. In the 68th minute, Georgy Vanat received the ball in the penalty area and shot it precisely into the bottom corner of Courtois' goal, putting Ukraine ahead. Six minutes later, in the 74th minute, Ilya Zabarny joined the attack and scored another goal, which practically removed the question of the winner of the match.
Results and forecast for the future
After two lightning goals, Ukraine gained an undeniable advantage and led the match to a 3:1 victory. There was a harmonious team play and excellent execution of attacking opportunities. After that, the match did not have much development for the Belgians, who were unable to fight back.
The corresponding game will take place this Sunday, March 23, in Genk, Belgium, at the Crystal Arena stadium. The Ukrainian national team has every chance to continue its winning streak and advance to the next stage of the tournament.
We remind you that we previously wrote that Andriy Shevchenko was included in the list of the worst transfers in the history of football.