Ukraine-Italy draw: does Ukraine's national team have a chance to qualify for Euro 2024?
On November 20, the Ukrainian national team played the current European champions, the Italian national team, to a draw, which prevented Ukraine from reaching the final. Find out if the Ukrainian national team has a chance to qualify for Euro 2024, which will be held next summer in Germany
In the last decisive match of the Euro 2024 qualifiers in Leverkusen, Germany, the Ukrainian national team played Italy to a 0-0 draw. Ukraine had to win the game to qualify for the final, while a draw was enough for Italy.
It is worth noting that in the history of head-to-head confrontations, Ukraine has never beaten Italy: today, the Ukrainians have 7 defeats and 2 draws. Before the game, the coach of the Ukrainian national team, Serhiy Rebrov, admitted that the Italians are a very serious opponent, but added that the Ukrainian team understands why and for whom they are playing today.
"I think many of our people lack good emotions now that the war has been going on for a year and a half. And a great sport like football gives emotions. We play for our army, for all people, in support of our freedom. And all our players understand why and for whom we play," he said.
At the same time, the Italian coach noted that he expects the Ukrainians to play an "attacking game," which the fans later saw on the field.
Read here how Ukraine qualified for the Olympic Games in football for the first time in history.
How did the Ukraine vs. Italy match go?
The Ukrainian national team started the match on the counterattack, and shot from long range, but it did not give the desired result. Several shots during regular time also went wide of the goal. At the same time, all the attacks of the Italian team were saved by the Ukrainian goalkeeper.
In stoppage time, the Ukrainian team claimed a penalty kick for allegedly bringing down Mykhailo Mudryk in the penalty area in the 93rd minute, but the referee did not record a violation of the rules, and the episode was not reviewed by VAR. The unassigned penalty on Mudryk was the most controversial episode in the entire match.
"I don't have VAR, I can't review it. Emotionally, I think there was a penalty, but probably the referee watched it on VAR and decided. I am grateful to the players not only for this moment - at the end we really tried to snatch this game," said Serhiy Rebrov, head coach of the Ukrainian national team, in a commentary to Suspilne Sport after the game.
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How can Ukraine qualify for Euro 2024?
Despite the fact that the match was drawn, Ukraine still has a chance to qualify for Euro 2024 through the playoffs at the League of Nations. This became possible due to the fact that the Ukrainian national team guaranteed itself a place in the qualifying playoffs by reaching the decisive qualifying phase according to the Nations League rankings.
The playoffs will take place in March 2024. Future rivals will be decided by draw on November 23. Among the likely rivals: Poland, Croatia, Estonia, Wales, Iceland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland and Israel.
To qualify for Euro 2024, Ukraine must win two matches in a row: the semifinals and the final of its four-team mini-tournament.
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We remind you! All Ukrainian fans remember the performance of the Ukrainian national team and goalkeeper Oleksandr Shovkovsky at the 2006 World Cup. However, not everyone can remember the path of the Ukrainian national team to this tournament. Read how Ukraine shone in 2005 and got a ticket to the final stage of the World Cup for the first time in our previous article.
Photo: Getty Images
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