WCQ: Ukraine players blameless for painful loss – coach
Ukraine coach Oleksandr Petrakov said he could not utter a word of criticism of his players after their World Cup qualification dream ended with a 1-0 loss to Wales on Sunday.
Ukraine had beaten Scotland in their playoff, semi-final to set up the meeting with the Welsh but an own goal from Andriy Yarmolenko and a series of fine saves from Wales keeper Wayne Hennessey put pay to their chances of making the November tournament in Qatar.
Asked what he had said to Yarmolenko, whose misdirected header from a Gareth Bale free-kick flew in his own net for the winner, a downbeat Petrakov said he had simply thanked him and all the players.
“I can only say thank you for everything he did for the team. I do not have any criticism to any of the players in the team. There is no need to touch any of the players,” he said.
“If you want to criticise, criticise me, the head coach. If the team wins, it is the players. If it loses, the only loser is the coach.
“I think we did everything we could but I want the people of Ukraine to remember our team, our efforts. I want to say sorry we didn’t score but that is sport, that happens. I am lost for words, I don’t know what to say,” he added.
Throughout the preparation for this week’s games, Petrakov has made impassioned comments about the war in his homeland following Russia’s invasion in February. Russia calls the invasion “a special military operation”.
“You know what is happening in Ukraine, we have war waging all over the country, children and women dying on a daily basis and our infrastructure being ruined by Russian barbarians,” he said.
“The Russians want to hurt us and we just want your support. God forbid if it would touch any of you,” he added.
Midfielder Oleksandr Zinchenko, who was outstanding throughout the game, said the team had deserved more.
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“Everyone of us gave everything today, we left everything on the pitch. “The goalkeeper for Wales did amazing, he is definitely man of the match.
“In general I don’t think we deserved to lose, but that’s football, it happens. Football is about emotions, we can bring some great emotions to our fans, but unfortunately today we didn’t get the result we wanted.
“As footballers we need to represent our country as best we can. Everyone needs to live in peace and we need to stop the war altogether.
“Today it’s Ukraine, but who knows tomorrow? We need to stay together,” he added.