Georgiy Bushchan: "The Swedes hit the frame twice? We also had a post and many chances..."

Ukraine national team goalkeeper Georgiy Bushchan commented on the victory over Sweden in the Euro 2020 round of 16 (2:1).

Georgiy Bushchan: "The Swedes hit the frame twice? We also had a post and many chances..."

Photo by Pavel Kubanov

On the way to the quarter-finals of the tournament, Andriy Shevchenko's protégés overcame the Swedes in extra time. After the game, goalkeeper Georgiy Bushchan shared his emotions.

"Pressure on the Ukrainian national team after the match against Austria? I think we created it ourselves because we felt the support of our fans and fellow countrymen. In the match against Sweden, we had to give everything for victory. After the game in the locker room, there was an incredible atmosphere. I believe that no words were necessary."

From the moment we learned that we would stay at Euro and play against Sweden, we started working on this tactic. We played according to a five-defender scheme against France away, it brought us benefits. Against Sweden, the whole team fought like 40 million Ukrainians.

Penalty shootout? I was sure that the team would push through. But in case of a post-match penalty series, I had one secret. On the bottle, there was written a list of Swedish players and where they aimed their eleven-meter shots.

Now we will prepare for the next match. Ukraine is celebrating with us, but now more will be expected from us. As for England's national team, I have not played against this year's squad yet.

Did the Swedes hit the frame twice? We also had a save, there were many moments we did not capitalize on. Throughout the entire time, we controlled the game and made fewer mistakes near our goalposts. Considering all our errors in group stage matches, today football god was with us.

Besedin's injury? I saw photos of the collision after the match—it was terrible. The whole team supported Artem. I wish him health. He worked hard for this—said he would not let Euro happen without him. Despite his injury, he helped us a lot and left our opponents in double digits. I hope that this injury is not serious," — Bushchan said.