Mykola Shaparenko: "Equalizer provided team with impulse and inspiration"

21.06.2024 19:39

Midfielder of the Ukraine national team, Mykola Shaparenko, was named the best player of the EURO 2024 group stage match against Slovakia (2:1) according to UEFA. After the game, the scorer of a goal and an assist for our team provided his comments.

"I want to say that the first game against Romania was a lesson for us. We needed to redeem ourselves. It was a crucial mental adjustment. Every player who stepped onto the pitch executed the coach's instructions, which guided us on how to play against Slovakia. We aimed to show our best football.

"When we equalized, it gave the team an impulse, inspiration. It felt like we found a second wind, and added new strength, and desire. The support in the stadium from the fans was fantastic, and we owe them a great deal of gratitude. They drove us forward. All we had to do was play and believe in victory.

"On Mircea Lucescu's words about Ukraine possibly reaching the semifinals at Euro? I just spoke with him. He congratulated our team on the victory. Of course, that's his vision. We must fulfill our role on the pitch, and give our all in the game. What happens next depends solely on us.

"The pressure on our team? It's always there, and we have to handle it. If we couldn't cope with it, we wouldn't be here," said Mykola Shaparenko.

Ukraine squad for EURO 2024

Goalkeepers: 1. Georgiy Bushchan (Dynamo Kyiv), 12. Anatoliy Trubin (Benfica, Portugal), 23. Andriy Lunin (Real Madrid, Spain).

Defenders: 22. Mykola Matviyenko, 2. Yukhym Konoplia, 21. Valeriy Bondar (all Shakhtar Donetsk), 24. Oleksandr Tymchyk (Dynamo Kyiv), 16. Vitaliy Mykolenko (Everton, England), 13. Illia Zabarnyi (Bournemouth, England), 3. Oleksandr Svatok (FC Dnipro-1 Dnipro), 4. Maksym Talovierov (LASK Linz, Austria), 26. Bohdan Mykhaylichenko (Polissya Zhytomyr).

Midfielders: 7. Andriy Yarmolenko, 19. Mykola Shaparenko, 18. Volodymyr Brazhko (all Dynamo Kyiv), 6. Taras Stepanenko, 20. Oleksandr Zubkov, 14. Georgiy Sudakov (all Shakhtar Donetsk), 17. Oleksandr Zinchenko (Arsenal, England), 15. Viktor Tsygankov (Girona, Spain), 10. Mykhailo Mudryk (Chelsea, England), 5. Serhiy Sydorchuk (Westerlo, Belgium), 8. Ruslan Malinovskyi (Genoa, Italy).

Forwards: 11. Artem Dovbyk (Girona, Spain), 9. Roman Yaremchuk (Valencia, Spain), 25. Vladyslav Vanat (Dynamo Kyiv).

EURO 2024 Group E: Schedule and Results

June 17: Romania vs Ukraine - 3:0

June 17: Belgium vs Slovakia - 0:1

June 26: Slovakia vs Ukraine - 1:2

Standings

June 22: Belgium vs Romania. Cologne Stadium, Cologne. Kick-off: 22:00 Kyiv time.

June 26: Slovakia vs Romania. Frankfurt Stadium, Frankfurt. Kick-off: 19:00 Kyiv time.

June 26: Ukraine vs Belgium. Stuttgart Arena, Stuttgart. Kick-off: 19:00 Kyiv time.

Kick-off times are in Kyiv time.