Transcript of a press conference with the head coach of Ukraine's national team Andrea Maldari after the loss to Hungary 1–2 in the fourth round of the League of Nations–2025/2026.loss to Hungary 1–2

– The first 30–35 minutes were very good play, with great intensity. Then there was a feeling that we got very tired and Hungary pressed us. Maybe it was a mistake to go forward from the start?

– I believe we played a great first half. I don't remember Hungary's national team making any shots in the first half at all. Of course, we were pushing forward and perhaps our players are not used to playing with such high intensity. And maybe for the last 8-10 minutes of the first half we slowed down a bit, but still we dominated the game. This was also confirmed in the second half. We basically controlled the ball and led the play.

– What, in your opinion, was missing from our team today and possibly which absent players were missed?

– I believe we lacked experience to hold these minutes after we equalized the score. What I mean is that at this moment you don't need to talk about tactics or technique. You need leadership, a leader on the field who can manage these moments. Regarding losses. Yes, we were practically missing another team today. But I am satisfied with the players who played today. We saw many young players who could be valuable resources for our team in the future. Krups'kyi, Ponomarenko, Krasnopіr — all of them played a very good match today. And so maybe problems with intensity since they are young.

– Could you summarize these four rounds? And are you satisfied with your game plan during this camp — playing with two strikers?

– Regarding the results, we are satisfied halfway, of course. We don't need to be overly satisfied because we understand there is no reason for it. We need to conduct a broader analysis of the last four matches. We played in different ways. Yes, we played with two strikers and with two tens, and with wingers. So we tried various formations. We have to be able to play so that we are not predictable — whoever watches our game, our matches. And having future solutions available is very important for us. Today I am convinced that we did not deserve this loss. Of course, I don't want to diminish Hungary's national team's achievement with this statement, but my opinion is such.

– Often we see that when a team scores an equalizing goal late in the game, it has an effect of bravery on that team. But today the opposite happened. What do you think about Hungary's second goal and how quickly it came?

– I haven't seen the video yet. But I think, though I am not sure, that we lost a duel on our half and then it happened. The ball ended up on the flank, then cross and goal. I think such moments don't need to be analyzed from a tactical point of view. We will do this during video analysis. I think something else came into play at that moment. That we are young — as a team and individually. In such moments you need to be more experienced. Physical, technical qualities, mentality should be present throughout 90 minutes, and in this we have to improve. I told the players that we are moving in the right direction because we played good football, in my opinion. The distance between players was good, we didn't allow many moments. This is a problem of mentality. We need to improve by correcting our mistakes.