It was about to come, the big chance for Ukraine. The end of the game was approaching, and Heorhij Sudakov took the ball, feinted, went past one, two, three opponents, into the penalty area, the path was clear. He shot, but his aim was too central, and the Belgian goalkeeper Koen Casteels caught the ball. Sudakov sank to the grass, his coach Serhij Rebrov fell to his knees. They knew that was it.
The Ukrainians played until the last second to reach the round of 16, even to win the group. Then they failed in the narrowest possible way. The 0:0 draw in the last group match against Belgium meant the fourth point in the tournament. It seemed impossible to be knocked out in the preliminary round. But the unusual constellation in Group E, which was ultimately very unfortunate for the Ukrainians, made it possible. The other three advanced to the round of 16.
“Peace has a price”
Many people in yellow and blue streamed to the stadium in the Stuttgart rain, including many women and children, as always with Ukraine. They hoped that the tournament would not end for them on that day. In the block, fans rolled out a choreography. “Thousands of football fans have been killed since February 2022,” was written on it, “Peace has a price.” Below was a large picture showing the face of the Ukrainian hero Nazariy Hryntsevich. It consisted of 182 faces of killed fans. For Ukraine, this Euro was always about more than goals.
“Peace has a price” was written on the banner held up by the organization “Stands of Heroes” at the game. They want to draw attention to thousands of fallen football fans. © Fabrice Coffrini/Getty Images
The favorites from Belgium played in light blue and brown, the outfit of the Belgian comic character Tintin. Their driving force was Kevin de Bruyne. A large Belgian choir sang his name when he had the ball. When he made a cutting pass to Romelu Lukaku or shot at goal, even the Ukrainians applauded. He is popular there too. The Ukrainians defended first, relying on counterattacks. A draw might have been enough to qualify for the knockout round. When Slovakia took the lead in the parallel match in Frankfurt, the plan seemed to be working. That would have been enough for third place.
© ZEIT ONLINE
Newsletter
Finally Monday
By registering, you acknowledge the privacy policy.
Thank you! We have sent you an email.
Check your mailbox and confirm your newsletter subscription.
As usual, the Ukrainian fans started chanting for the ZSU, the Ukrainian military. Shortly before half-time, Roman Yaremchuk had a chance. He crossed to Artem Dovbyk, but his pass was too sharp. He would have been better off trying it himself. In the second half, the Belgians increased the pressure. But Ukraine held firm. A left-footed shot from Lukaku was easy prey for Anatoli Trubin, the keeper from Benfica Lisbon. A shot from Jeremy Doku went wide. A cross found no one.
They needed a goal
0-0, Ukraine was in the game, but Romania had equalized in Frankfurt. And that meant that it would most likely remain a draw, because that would mean that both the Romanians and the Slovaks would qualify for the round of 16.
Around the 70th minute, the blue and yellow block chanted “Ukraina, Ukraina” and it echoed around the arena. Rebrov made an offensive substitution, bringing on Oleksandr Zinchenko, a technically skilled left-footer from Arsenal. Ukraine now had opportunities. A direct corner from Ruslan Malinovskyi almost ended up in the goal, later his hard long-range shot hit a defender’s chest. Another corner led to a header opportunity. But there was no goal, the Belgians defended the tie at the corner flag, and the Ukrainians fell to the ground as the final whistle blew.
All four teams in this group have four points. Ukraine’s downfall was that they had set themselves too high goals in the first game. They wanted to win for their soldiers on the front line. That was too much pressure. The team lost 0:3 to Romania. In the end, the goal difference was too bad.
Boos for the Belgians, applause for the Ukrainians
What a contrast: The team that reached the next round, the Belgians, were booed by their fans because they played too defensively. The team that was eliminated was applauded by their supporters. “It is very important for our country that we are here,” said coach Rebrow at the press conference, which was their motto for this European Championship. “It is very important for us to show the people of Europe and our people in Ukraine that we need the support of Europe and that we are part of Europe.” Football is an important part of life and must make its contribution so that Ukraine can continue to exist.
An external content is embedded here
We need your consent to view
Further
Afterwards, Kevin de Bruyne, Player of the Match, answered questions from the journalists. He spoke about his friend Zinchenko, with whom he played for five years in Manchester. And the world star said of Ukraine that they were “a very good team with a lot of talent that will be there in the future too.” He was happy with the result, he said, saying that Ukraine was a strong opponent. A strong opponent that represented its nation with dignity in Germany.
It was about to come, the big chance for Ukraine. The end of the game was approaching, and Heorhij Sudakov took the ball, feinted, went past one, two, three opponents, into the penalty area, the path was clear. He shot, but his aim was too central, and the Belgian goalkeeper Koen Casteels caught the ball. Sudakov sank to the grass, his coach Serhij Rebrov fell to his knees. They knew that was it.
The Ukrainians played until the last second to reach the round of 16, even to win the group. Then they failed in the narrowest possible way. The 0:0 draw in the last group match against Belgium meant the fourth point in the tournament. It seemed impossible to be knocked out in the preliminary round. But the unusual constellation in Group E, which was ultimately very unfortunate for the Ukrainians, made it possible. The other three advanced to the round of 16.
