On October 17 in Ta'Qali, Ukraine's national team defeated Malta in a Euro-2024 qualification match with a score of 3:1. After the game, Ukrainian national team utility player Oleksandr Zinchenko shared his impressions.

"The first half was quite difficult, although I wouldn't say that the second half was easy either. All I can say is this: many people might think that Malta is a weak opponent and we should have scored five goals. But the Maltese once again demonstrated good play and solid defense. We conceded today first but most importantly, we quickly got back into the game. Showing character—this is what all Ukrainians possess."

Luck favors the best! Sudakov deserved it. Since the day he joined the national team, everyone has seen his potential. This boy can become a top-class player. Every day Georgy proves that he's becoming one of our leaders. The most important thing is for him to keep going and make the right moves because now he's at a critical stage—there are many discussions about him, much attention on him. If he makes the right decisions, everything will work out.

The most important thing for us is that we secured three points. I'm very happy for Mudryk and the team. He scored a crucial goal that calmed down the game somewhat. We all remember the experience from last time when we conceded in the final minutes against Kazakhstan and lost points. Now, we all need to switch back to our clubs, and on Saturday, both me and Mudryk have an extremely important match in England.

Regarding the upcoming match with Italy, I don't want to look too far ahead but can say that it will be a final. The final of all our lives at this moment. We all understand what difficult times we are living through. There's no need to motivate us. Everyone realizes that every one of our victories brings good emotions for all Ukrainians. I saw footage where fighters were watching our game... Goosebumps ran down their skin... This is what motivates us the most today.

I want to say a huge thank you from the entire team for the support that our fans gave us, those who could come to the stadium. We felt it throughout the whole match—thank you very much," said Oleksandr Zinchenko.