Ruslan Rotan: "We were head and shoulders above the opponent, but our mistakes were fatal"

25.07.2024 09:00

On July 24, Ukraine's Olympic team lost 1:2 to Iraq in their first group-stage match of the 2024 Games football tournament.

"What kind of logic is it when the opponent has only two or three shots and we lose? I think the issue is more fundamental, with childish mistakes that turned the game upside down. We have to accept this result. We lost because of our mistakes.

The penalty is our problem. We must not give up. We emphasized that the problem is not in the mistakes but in how we respond to them. This fact disappointed me...

I believe we were head and shoulders above the opponent, but our mistakes were fatal. We started to worry, rush, and get nervous. This was unnecessary. There was time to correct them. I didn't like this.

We have two more matches against even stronger teams. The next match is the most important. We need to recover now. I think we should approach the match against Morocco in better physical and mental shape," quoted the head coach of Ukraine's Olympic team, Ruslan Rotan, by the exclusive broadcaster of the team's matches, Suspilne Sport.

Ukraine's Olympic team will play their next match against Morocco on July 27.

Olympics 2024: Men's Football Tournament Group B

July 24, 2024

Argentina - Morocco - 1:2

Iraq - Ukraine - 2:1

Standings

July 27, 2024

Argentina vs Iraq (16:00, Lyon)

Ukraine vs Morocco (18:00, Saint-Étienne)

July 30, 2024

Ukraine vs Argentina (18:00, Lyon)

Morocco vs Iraq (18:00, Nice)

All match times are in Kyiv time.

The two top teams from Group B advance to face representatives from Group A.

2024 Olympics. Men's Football Tournament

Group A: France, USA, Guinea, New Zealand.

Group B: Argentina, Morocco, Iraq, Ukraine.

Group C: Uzbekistan, Spain, Egypt, Dominican Republic.

Group D: Japan, Paraguay, Mali, Israel.