After defeating Bosnia and Iceland in the EURO 2024 qualification playoffs, many football pundits, experts and fans predicted Ukraine to perform well at this year’s competition, but the prognoses were not borne out.
The Ukrainians were placed in Group E with Belgium, Slovakia, and Romania. Many believed that Ukraine would advance out of the group to the competition’s knockout stages, and some even believed that the Ukrainians would be a force to be reckoned with during the tournament.
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To the shock of many, these predictions never came to fruition. Instead, Ukraine were faced with an early exit.
After playing their three matches, the Ukrainians earned four points out of a possible nine from their games. Had they been in another of group in this year’s competition, this would have been enough to see them advance to the Round of 16.
Other results in Group E, however, saw all four teams finish with one win, one draw, and one loss. Given that the head-to-head tiebreaker was equal for all four teams, the next tiebreaker was a one goal difference. Ukraine would finish in last place in their group due to this factor.
What went wrong for Ukraine at EURO 2024?
The biggest issue for Ukraine occurred during their opening match against Romania. In this fixture, Ukrainian manager Serhiy Rebrov opted to select Ukrainian goalkeeper Andriy Lunin ahead of Anatoliy Trubin.
This selection hurt Ukraine in their opening match. During the fixture against Romania, Ukraine dominated possession. They completed more passes, they had more corners, and they had more shots. But during the match, they were slow on the ball. They failed to capitalize on their dominant performance, and they had no tempo. In addition to this sluggish style of play, Lunin made two major errors in the match.
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These mistakes gifted Romania with two golden opportunities, both of which they converted. The Romanians punished the Ukrainians for their errors, and the Ukrainians were unable to respond. They were shellshocked. A third goal from Romania then killed the match.
In their next game in Group E, Ukraine learned from their errors. Rebrov took a gamble and replaced Lunin with Trubin. He also opted for Volodymyr Brazhko instead of Taras Stepanenko.
The risk paid off. While Slovakia took the lead early in the match, the Ukrainians remained calm. Rather than appearing to look lost, they maintained their composure during the match.
Their ability to stay firm allowed the Ukrainians to remain in control. Their hard work paid off, and the Ukrainians defeated the Slovaks in a narrow 2-1 victory.
Bad habits then crept back into the Ukrainian side on the final day in the group. While the Belgians dominated possession, passes completed, and corners, it was Ukraine who had the better chances. But like the match against Romania, Ukraine failed to score against Belgium.
The Ukrainians were unable to convert their chances, and they failed to take advantage of the situation. Had the match against Belgium been a standalone incident, the goalless draw would have been an impressive result. But given what was at stake in the group, the result meant that Ukraine was eliminated from the competition.
Ukraine had made progress throughout the three games. In their opening fixture, they lost to Romania 3-0. In their second game, they won 2-1, and in the third match, they drew 0-0. As they grew into the tournament, their defense had remarkably improved. They put in solid performances in two of the three matches.
However, Ukraine failed to be clinical. This is what hurt them most. In two of their three matches, they failed to score. In addition, they only scored two goals in three games, when both goals came in a single match.
Ukraine will certainly rue the missed opportunities against Belgium, where a single goal would have seen them progress to the competition’s knockout stages.
But failing to score was a major reason why the Ukrainians were eliminated from the competition. It is difficult to progress in a tournament if a team does not know how to score.
Finally, age and experience may have played a factor in Ukraine’s early exit.
For many members of the Ukrainian national team, this was their first major competition. Many of them had never faced the intensity or pressure of playing on the world stage, and some shaky performances resulted in Ukraine’s early exit from the competition.
Overall, the EURO 2024 performances were mixed. Ukraine was slow in the game against Romania. In contrast, the Ukrainians put in good performances against Slovakia and Belgium. In addition, throughout the group stage, they showed flashes of brilliance.
While Ukraine is a talented force, and they are capable of challenging numerous opponents, it’s unfortunate that one bad result was the reason why they were unable to progress to the knockout stages in EURO 2024.
Sometimes football is cruel that way.
They will be disappointed that they have bowed out of the competition. Some might also say that they were unlucky not to progress from the group. But following their displays against Slovakia and Belgium, the Ukrainians know that they held their heads high.
This tournament will be a learning experience for Ukraine’s young and talented side, and the future will be bright for this Ukrainian football team.
Now, having been eliminated from EURO 2024, the Ukrainians will have to wait until the autumn of 2024 before they return to their international football duty. This break in play will give them time to reflect on these performances.
An early exit from EURO 2024 is disappointing, and time will tell if they learn from these mistakes.
But the Ukrainians cannot be down for long. After all, the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification period awaits.
The views expressed are the author’s and not necessarily of Kyiv Post.
Mark Temnycky is an accredited freelance journalist covering Eurasian affairs and a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. He can be found on X @MTemnycky
The views expressed are the author’s and not necessarily of Kyiv Post.
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