The captain of the Ukrainian football team commented on the victory over New Zealand.

Ukrainian national team defender Illia Zabarnyi spoke about the match against New Zealand. He noted that he was very tired but gave his all on the field as the victory was extremely important for the team. Zabarnyi was pleased to receive the best player of the match award but emphasized that it was the achievement of the entire team. He also expressed pride in his captaincy and underscored the importance of the upcoming matches in the World Cup qualifying tournament.

«Honestly, I was tired. But we won, and that is very important. I am very pleased that I am appreciated, but it was the whole team that worked for one player to receive the «Lion of the Match». This is the merit of everyone. Being the captain of the team is a great pride for me. My dream has come true – to lead the national team onto the field at a quite young age. I will work even harder and help the team. The main takeaway from the last gathering is that the teams that come out against us fight very aggressively until the end. We have a very important qualifying tournament for the World Cup ahead of us, so we will draw conclusions and move forward», – explained Zabarnyi.

Oleksandr Zinchenko scored the decisive goal:

It is important to note that Oleksandr Zinchenko scored the decisive goal in this match, which allowed the Ukrainian national team to secure a victory over New Zealand. This victory was particularly important after losing to Canada. The performance of the Ukrainian team in this match helped them take second place in the Canadian Shield tournament and lifted their spirits ahead of the qualifying matches for the World Cup.