Ukraine’s national team lost to Belgium: analysis of the match
24 March 08:48
On March 23, Ukraine’s national men’s soccer team lost to Belgium 3-0 in the return leg of the 2024/2025 Nations League playoffs. In the first match, Ukraine won 3-1, so the Ukrainian national team lost its chance to be promoted to League A based on the sum of the two matches, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
After the impressive 3-1 victory of the blue and yellows in the first match in Murcia, Serhiy Rebrov’s team traveled to Genk, where the decisive meeting for the right to play in the elite of European football in the 2026/2027 cycle took place at the Cegeka Arena.
On the eve of the match, the national team of Ukraine suffered personnel losses – both right backs (Konoplya and Sych) withdrew due to injuries. Under these circumstances, the coaching staff changed the tactical scheme to a variant with three central defenders and made four substitutions in the starting lineup, entrusting Svatko, Yarmolyuk, Hutsulyak and Vanat.
From the start of the match, the hosts seized the initiative, while the Ukrainian team focused on counterattacking. For a long time, the blue-and-yellow defense acted reliably, not allowing the Belgians to create sharp moments.
Only closer to the middle of the first half did de Bruyne shoot dangerously over the goal, to which the Ukrainians responded with an inaccurate shot by Zinchenko.
Before the break, the hosts increased their pressure, especially threatening with set pieces. After one of the corners, Vanat almost cut the ball into his own net, hitting the post. De Bruyne also took a dangerous free kick, but the Ukrainian team managed to keep their goal intact until the break.
In the second half, the nature of the game remained unchanged. Immediately after the break, Kastan scored over the crossbar, and later Lunin managed to stop Vanaken, who was put into the striking position by Doku. In the 62nd minute, Lukaku incredibly missed the empty net from a few meters after a corner. The Ukrainian team responded with an attempt by Sudakov after Mykolenko’s cross.
After Mykolenko’s injury, Ukraine’s head coach Serhiy Rebrov made a triple substitution. The Belgian coach Rudi Garcia also released fresh players, including de Kuiper, who immediately scored a goal after a pass from Doc in the 70th minute. Shortly afterward, Lunin saved the team after Vanaken’s shot, but in the 75th minute the Belgians doubled their lead – Lukaku accurately closed the canopy from de Bruyne in the fall.
The Ukrainian national team tried to respond – Dovbyk scored a dangerous header, but Sels repelled the shot. The hosts did not stop, and in the 86th minute Lukaku, receiving a pass from Vanaken, scored a double in the far corner of the goal, setting the final score 3-0 in favor of the Belgians. Following the results of two matches (total score 4:3), the Belgian team won, which means that the blue and yellows retain their place in Division B of the League of Nations.
“Any game of the national team of Ukraine now is for our fans, for the fighters. The players did not think about the divisions, but tried to do their best. Indeed, for me it’s more of a friendly tournament, but to lose like this… I agree that everyone is upset now. Let’s see what happens next. In these matches, we expected to prepare for the qualifying round, which will be very difficult for us. Our goal is to get to the World Cup. Yes, everyone is upset, but we need to work and prepare for the selection,”
– commented Serhiy Rebrov, head coach of the Ukrainian national team, after the match.
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Tactical picture of the match
Experts note that the tactical decisions of the Ukrainian coaching staff played a key role in the defeat. Changing the scheme to three central defenders and significant changes in the starting lineup (four new players compared to the first match) led to a loss of team harmony. The Ukrainian national team chose a defensive tactic, ceding the initiative to the hosts – the statistics of ball possession (30% vs. 70%) and the ratio of shots (6:19) clearly demonstrate the difference in the teams’ approaches.
A special feature of the match was that Belgium coach Rudi Garcia made revolutionary personnel changes after the failure in the first game. Replacing six players in the first team, the Belgian coach relied on attacking football. The trio of playmakers (Raskin, Vanaken, de Bruyne) were given full freedom of action in the center of the field, and complemented by attacking fullbacks and speedy wingers, they created unbridled pressure on the Ukrainian defense.
Despite the fact that the Belgians scored the first goal only in the 70th minute, the Ukrainian national team held on, thanks in large part to the excellent play of Andriy Lunin and the incredible misses of the opponents in the final stages of the attacks. Experts point out that the choice of defensive tactics against a team with known problems in defense was a mistake. A potentially more attacking style could have better exploited the Belgians’ weaknesses, as the first match showed.
This result casts doubt on Serhii Rebrov’s tactical decisions, especially given that the coach had long tried to instill combination football in the team, but in the decisive game he abandoned this approach in favor of a defensive model that ultimately failed.
League of Nations 2024/2025. Playoffs for a place in League A. The return match
Belgium – Ukraine 3: 0 (0: 0)
march 23. Genk. Cegeka Arena. The first match – 1-3.
Goals: de Kuiper (70), Lukaku (75, 86).
Belgium: Sels, Meunier (de Kuipers, 69), Fas, Debast, Castan, Vanaken, Raskin (Heinen, 90), de Bruyne (c), Trossard (Salemakers, 69), Lukaku, Doku. Substitutes: Lammens, Vandewoordt, Mokio, Openda, Luquebakio, de Winter, de Ketelare, Mehele, Batshuayi. Coach: Rudy Garcia.
Ukraine: Lunin, Zabarnyi, Svatok (Yaremchuk, 89), Matvienko (c), Zinchenko, Kalyuzhnyi, Yarmolyuk, Mykolenko (Mykhailychenko, 69), Hutsulyak (Yarmolenko, 89), Vanat (Dovbyk, 69), Sudakov (Tsygankov, 69). Substitutes: Trubin, Riznyk, Bondar, Nazarina, Shaparenko, Buyalsky, Nazarenko. Coach: Serhiy Rebrov.
Referee: Daniel Siebert (Germany).
Warned: Raskin (5), Vanaken (90-4) – Zabarny (12), Zinchenko (29), Hutsulyak (45-2), Vanat (58).
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