The Ukrainian national football team successfully started the fight for promotion to the elite division of the UEFA Nations League. In the first play-off match, Serhiy Rebrov's team won a strong-willed victory over the Belgian team, UNN reports.
Details
The nominally home game, which took place in Murcia, Spain, started well for the "blue-yellows". In particular, Sudakov and Yaremchuk had good chances to score.
Closer to the middle of the first half, the Belgians started to play more actively. And in the 40th minute, this advantage materialized into a goal: Lukaku turned out to be more skillful than the Ukrainian defenders after a free kick - 1:0.
After the break, the "blue-yellows" added again. In the middle of the second half, Zinchenko hit the post from a free kick. Later, Rebrov made a triple substitution, and in the 66th minute, one of the players who had just come on the field, Gutsulyak, robbed the Belgian defender and hit the near corner - 1:1.
Another substitution by the Ukrainian coach paid off 7 minutes later - Vanat finished a dynamic combination with an accurate shot - 2:1. And a few minutes later, Zinchenko's cross to the far post was finished off by Zabarny and set the final score - 3:1 in favor of the Ukrainians.
The return match between Belgium and Ukraine will take place on Sunday, March 23 in Genk, Belgium.
Let us remind you
On the eve of the confrontations with the Belgians, the head coach of the Ukrainian national football team Serhiy Rebrov confirmed that Ukrainian team forward Andriy Dovbyk had been diagnosed with an infection. He also reminded that Maksym Taloverov, who arrived to the team with an injury, had left the team's location.