Natalia Zinchenko: “I am not worried about the form of the Northern Irish women. The main thing is for my wards to play their football "

06.04.2021 12:02

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

In 2009, Ukrainian footballers only managed to make it to the finals of the European Championship, and then one of the leaders of our team was Natalia Zinchenko.

She may soon repeat this achievement as the head coach of the women's national team of Ukraine, because in the near future her wards will play two playoff matches with the Northern Irish, the winner of which will receive a pass to the decisive stage of this prestigious continental competition in 2022.

- The team gathered in Kyiv on April 5, - said the leader of the women's national team of Ukraine Natalia Zinchenko in a comment to the official website of the UAF. - I have 24 players at my disposal, classes take place at the FC Left Bank stadium. According to the medical protocol, PCR testing was performed yesterday, all results are negative.

- Did all the players you wanted to see in the national team come to Kyiv?

- Unfortunately, for various reasons, Yulia Khrystyuk, Kateryna Korsun and Victoria Girin will not help the main team of the country. However, the main thing is that the key players are in line and are preparing to meet the new challenge in full force.

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

- How do you assess the current level of training of wards?

- Those girls who play in the championship of Ukraine, have already played three matches. This is quite good, as for the game tone. By the way, most of them passed the Kharkiv derby between Zhytlobud-1 and Zhytlobud-2, which is always a fierce battle. There was an opportunity to make sure that the wards are in combat uniform.

- What is the latest information about rivals?

- There are plenty of videos of matches with the participation of Northern Irish women, so it will be possible to determine their strengths and vulnerabilities. As the Northern Ireland Championship has been suspended due to the pandemic, all members of the local club have been in training since the beginning of March. The same players who play in England have enough playing practice. As I was told, all the leading British players are in the lineup.

After all, I'm not very worried about the sport form of the Northern Irish. In my opinion, the main thing is for my wards to play their football - combination, fast, using the flanks. If our girls show all their skills, you can safely count on a positive result.

It will be recalled that the first playoff match between Ukraine and Northern Ireland will take place on April 9 in Kovalivka at Kolos Stadium (starting at 19.00 pm), and the return match will take place on April 13 in Belfast at Sivyu Stadium (21.45 pm Kyiv time). ).

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

The squad of the national women's team of Ukraine

Goalkeepers: Iryna Sanina (Zhytlobud-1 Kharkiv), Kateryna Samson, Daryna Bondarchuk (both Zhytlobud-2 Kharkiv), Alla Gerasymchuk (Hayasa, Armenia).

Defenders: Daria Kravets (Reims, France), Lyubov Shmatko, Anastasia Voronina, Anna Petryk, Olga Basanska (all - Zhytlobud-1 Kharkiv), Iryna Podolska, Anastasia Filenko (both Zhytlobud-2 Kharkiv).

Midfielders: Olga Ovdiychuk, Daria Apanashchenko, Olga Boychenko (all - Zhytlobud-1 Kharkiv), Tamila Khimich (Split, Croatia), Iya Andrushchak, Natia Pantsulaya, Yana Kalinina, Veronika Andrukhiv, Yana Malakhova (all - Zhytlobud -2 »Kharkiv).

Forwards: Nadiya Kunina, Anna Voronina (both Zhytlobud-1 Kharkiv), Nicole Kozlova (Virginia Tech, USA), Roksolana Kravchuk (Zhytlobud-2 Kharkiv).

Euro-2022 among women's teams. Playoffs

Ukraine - Northern Ireland

Portugal - Russia

Czech Republic - Switzerland

In the final match of the group qualification round of Euro-2022 blue-yellow defeated Montenegro (2: 1). This victory allowed the Ukrainians to take second place in the group and continue the fight to reach the final tournament in the playoffs.

Summary table of group I

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

Euro-2022 among women's teams

Reached the final tournament: England (host), the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Spain, Finland, Sweden, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Iceland, Austria.

Reached the playoffs: Ukraine, Switzerland, Portugal, Russia, Czech Republic, Northern Ireland.

A total of 15 teams from the Euro qualifiers will reach the decisive stage. Nine winners of the selected groups and the three best second teams have already joined England as the hosts of the European Championship (as a result of matches with the first, third, fourth and fifth teams in their groups). Six more teams, which became the second in their groups, will play in the last three matches in the butt matches. 

Final table of second places

It will be recalled that the Euro in England will be held from 6 to 31 July 2022.