Italy did not allow Ukraine to qualify for Euro 2024. But the match ended in a refereeing scandal.
Grigory Telingater November 21, 2023, 01:30 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Mudryk was brought down in the box, but the referee didn’t notice.
Ukraine vs Italy is perhaps the most anticipated match of the November window for national teams. England got the first ticket to Euro 2024 in group C and the fate of the second was decided in Leverkusen. At the same time, the Ukrainians were content only with victory. And at the same time, the coach of the Italian team, Luciano Spalletti, said from the beginning that his team would not play for a tie.
In fact, this is what happened. From the first minutes the game started without a center field. Chiesa had a great chance early on, but his shot narrowly missed and the ball went over the crossbar. Italian defender Buongiorno was then only able to thwart the Ukrainian counterattack thanks to a yellow card. And in the 14th minute, Sudakov shot dangerously, just before the visitors’ area: Donnarumma had to be dragged away.
At some point it even seemed that the match was dictated by the Ukrainian team. The left flank stood out especially, where the two main stars of the team played: Zinchenko (left back) and Mudryk (left winger). It is true that the scheme has changed. The Arsenal player remained in defense only when the Italians had the ball, and when Ukraine was in possession, Zinchenko went to the center of the field, a maneuver he already practiced at City.
Ukraine – Italy
Photo: Federico Gambarini/Getty Images
It is true that the Italians quickly took the initiative and created several interesting moments. Among other things, Frattesi confronted the goalkeeper, but managed to get out of the door and save the team. The match in general went well for Spalletti’s team, but during the break the coach replaced the center forward Raspadori, who in the first 45 minutes (actually 45, the referee did not add anything) shot three times without success on goal. Scamacca entered his place.
In the second half, Italy looked even more powerful. The match was played mainly in the Ukrainian half of the field. First Chiesa, then DiMarco, then Di Lorenzo shot on goal. However, in the 65th minute Mudryk almost scored. The ball passed close to Donnarumma’s goal and bounced towards the Chelsea winger, whose shot was blocked by the goalkeeper. Furthermore, almost immediately afterwards, the Ukrainian team made a beautiful combination that almost ended in a goal.
Alleged foul on Mudryk at the end of the match against Italy
Photo: Frame of the transmission.
The whole match led to the fact that someone would score (probably the Italians), but by some miracle the game ended with the score 0-0. True, it is not entirely clear why they did not award a penalty in the 90+3 minute, when Mudryk was clearly knocked down. Neither the referee on the field nor the VAR referees saw a violation of the rules. Italy still got a ticket to Euro 2024 and Ukraine advanced to the Nations League playoffs. Now they will have to beat two rivals in March to qualify for the European Championship.
The Czech national team qualified for the Euro Cup, but first there was a scandal:
Scandal in the Czech national team. The former RPL legionnaire disappointed the team before the decisive match
