2018: results of the year for the national team of Ukraine

30.12.2018 14:25

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

In 2018, the national team of Ukraine has won one of the most important victories in its history - won the UEFA League of Nations group in the division B and won the division ticket A for the next draw, which is to take place in the 2020/2021 season. In addition, the blue and yellows got an extra chance to get to Euro 2020, but we've already talked about that told.

In their trio, Andriy Shevchenko's wards won the first three matches, in the Czech Republic (twice) and Slovakia, and only with a first place guarantee did they fail in Trnava. It was one of our biggest defeats, which, by the way, interrupted one of the longest unbeaten series of the national team of Ukraine.

This series began on November 10, 2017 with a home sparring match against Slovakia, lasted nine matches (six wins, three draws) and ended in Slovakia as well. However, this figure entered the top 5 in the biography of the Ukrainian national team and shares the fourth or fifth place with the figure of 2001 (coach - Valery Lobanovsky). We saw longer series of matches without defeats in 2012-2013 (12), 2004-2005 (12) and 1998-1999 (13).

It should also be noted that the national team of Ukraine in 2018 has significantly rejuvenated. Shevchenko's team finished 2017, with an average age of sparring participants with Slovakia of 27,2 years. And in the last match of 2018, this figure was 23,7. Although the team played most of the matches with rates ranging from 25,9 to 26,6 years. In one case it was more, in two - less.

In 2018, eight football players made their debut in the national team: Andriy Lunin (March 23), Mykita Burda, Mykola Shaparenko (both on May 31), Roman Yaremchuk (September 6), Andriy Boryachuk, Ihor Plastun (both on November 16), Vitaliy Mykolenko , Marian Shved (both - November 20). And Lunin became the youngest goalkeeper in the history of the national team of Ukraine.

Nine players were called up to the national team, but did not play a single match in 2018: defenders Oleg Danchenko (Shakhtar), Vasyl Kravets (Lugo, Spain), Pavlo Lukyanchuk (Kishvarda, Hungary) ), Oleksandr Svatok (Zorya), Andriy Tsurikov (Oleksandriya), Artem Shabanov (Dynamo), midfielder Volodymyr Shepelev (Dynamo), forwards Yuriy Kolomoyets and Vladyslav Kulach (both Vorskla).

2018 national team matches of Ukraine

Personnel potential