On October 17 in Ta'Qali, the Ukraine national team defeated Malta in a Euro-2024 qualification match with a score of 3:1. After the game, forward Artem Dovbik shared his impressions. 

"Penalty? I aimed at the goalkeeper, but he stayed in place until the end and somehow tripped me. Good that my shot was strong enough for the goalkeeper to not react to it. When a shot has power behind it, it cannot be stopped so quickly. 

The start of the first half wasn't great, and there were several reasons for this. We had just played recently and prepared for such a tough defensive game. The coach warned us that it wouldn’t be easy and that Malta would look to exploit counter-attack opportunities. That's exactly what happened. It’s good that we managed to regroup and secure three points. 

Of course, there was some luck involved too. But we took the initiative into our own hands, created a couple of nice chances which turned into goals. Personally, I found it harder to battle with Malta's defenders than Macedonia’s. Macedonians gave us space, but the Maltese did not. They sat very deep and had to fight them off all the time. I don't even know how many one-on-one battles I had in this match. A sticky game with a lot of provocations from the Maltese. 

In the upcoming match against Italy, which will be a battle for Euro-2024 qualification, we need to give everything we have. Everyone needs to go all out. Only then can you beat such a team as Italy," — said Artem Dovbik.