Ukraine's national team lost its 100th anniversary match and its 5th under the leadership of Oleh Blokhin. At the Stade de France stadium, the "blue-and-yellows" lost 0:1 to the European champions, the French. The only and winning goal in the 88th minute of the match was scored by Zinedine Zidane, who took advantage of a mistake by the defenders.\n\nFor the French, the game against Ukraine was no less festive, as it was dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the French national team. Before the start, onto the field of the Stade de France, in addition to the teams themselves, came players who had played for the "tricolores" over the past years. Compared to the lineup of the Ukrainian national team, the French "starting eleven" looked formidable and more "star-studded." From the Ukrainian team, to the numerous fans of the French national team, perhaps only goalkeeper Oleksandr Shovkovskyi was known...\n\nIn the center of Ukraine's defense played three central defenders - Rusol, Yezerskyi, Fedorov. On the flanks - Starostyak and Nesmachnyi. With the holding midfielders it was also clear. Tymoshchuk was partnered by Shelayev, whom Blokhin had praised after the game against the Slovaks. The flanks of midfield were given to Husyev (on the right) and Rotan (on the left). In attack, Blokhin decided to make do with the efforts of Vorobey alone.\n\nAlready at the start of the game, Husyev's run into the French penalty area ended in a fall, but the referee did not blow the whistle. Overall, in the first 45 minutes the Ukrainians showed quite decent football. On the flanks, the active Husyev and Rotan stood out, and in the center of midfield, Tymoshchuk and Shelayev did not let Zidane breathe easily. Demonstrating constant pressing and physical football at the moment the French received the ball, the Ukrainians seemed to somewhat intimidate their opponents with such aggressive actions. Even such a "giant" as Rotan repeatedly engaged in physical duels with Saá, then with Vieira, then with Pirès.\n\nUkraine's reliable play in defense in the first half of the first half did not allow Jacques Santini's charges to create anything more or less real near Shovkovskyi's goal. The first dangerous moment in this game came in the 19th minute when Zidane, near the line of the penalty area, dribbled past two Ukrainians and shot into the corner of Shovkovskyi's goal, but the Dynamo keeper parried this shot. The Ukrainians' attacking response was less impressive. Tymoshchuk shot at Barthez's goal twice from distance and Vorobey once. Moreover, only one of Tymoshchuk's shots was on target, but it turned out to be easy prey for Barthez.\n\nOn the first half. The Ukrainian national team's play looked reliable in defense, and we saw how one must play against top-tier teams in order not to concede. Against the French, this trick practically worked, but we do not yet see how one must score. Moreover, two goals scored in 5 matches - such a scoring rate frankly does not add optimism. In the first 45 minutes of the game against the French, first of all, much was achieved thanks to the players' frantic self-sacrifice. And the only thing for which there are no complaints about Blokhin so far is that only those footballers who are stronger at the moment play for the national team. This is a big plus. You can no longer get into the Ukrainian national team on past merits. Even Serhiy Rebrov came on as a substitute only in the second half of the game. However, the lack of match practice of the ex-Fenerbahçe forward made itself felt. Rebrov was barely noticeable in this match and ineffective.\n\nThe second half of the encounter, especially its beginning, was similar to the first half. The French national team had a slight advantage, but there were not that many dangerous moments. The first of them, and quite a goalscoring one, came in the 69th minute of the game when, after a deflection in the Ukrainians' penalty area, Pirès from about 12 meters fired at Shovkovskyi's goal, but Oleksandr pulled off this frantic shot for a corner. After this moment, Blokhin made a somewhat incomprehensible substitution. Instead of right-back Starostyak, the holding midfielder Bidnenko came onto the field, for whom this game was his debut. Nevertheless, it was precisely Starostyak, who was chasing Zidane step for step, who played more or less reliably against the "star" of Real Madrid. After Mykhailo's substitution, the "hole" on this flank was more noticeable. Moreover, in the 88th minute, it was Henry, who was closer to Starostyak's position, who won the duel against Checher and laid it off to Zidane, who, surrounded by Shelayev and Yezerskyi, managed to shoot and this time was more accurate, hitting the corner of the goal 1:0.\n\nUntil the end of the game, the Ukrainians failed to respond to "Zizou's" goal. After Vorobey was replaced by Kosyrin, the Chornomorets forward failed to fully replace the Shakhtar striker, who had been more aggressive near the opponent's penalty area. Three minutes before the end of the match, Blokhin sent Venhlynskyi onto the field, although this should have been done earlier, at least about 20 minutes earlier. All the more so since we have already seen that we know how to defend, but near the opponent's goal in the game against the French there was not only no finishing shot but also no pass. As for Venhlynskyi's substitution in the last minutes of the game, it looked more like the helplessness of the coaching staff, who did not know what needed to be changed in attack.\n\nAs for conclusions. One thing is clear: at the moment, the lineup of the Ukrainian national team has practically taken shape. At the same time, the impossibility of giving it playing time together may become one of the main problems for Blokhin's team on the eve of the start of the qualifying tournament. The footballers with whom Blokhin intends to storm first place in their group of the 2006 World Cup qualifying tournament are there, but to create a TEAM, the last friendly match against England may not be enough. As for the game against France, it is not yet worth singing praises to the Ukrainians. The following characterization of the match fits here: they fought, but lost. All the more so since a 1:0 loss to the French team can hardly be counted as an asset for Blokhin and Co. One can note the fact that the game demonstrated by the Ukrainians in the encounter with the French team became the most optimistic from the point of view of the future of the Ukrainian team, although without euphoria.\n\nFriendly match.\nFrance - Ukraine - 1:0\nGoal: Zidane 88\nFrance: Barthez - Thuram, Gallas (Sagnol 76), Silvestre, Lizarazu - Makélélé (Pedretti 83), Vieira, Pirès, Zidane - Henry, Saá (Marlet 76).\nUkraine: Shovkovskyi - Starostyak (Bidnenko), Rusol, Fedorov (Checher 78, (Venhlynskyi 90)), Yezerskyi, Nesmachnyi - Tymoshchuk, Shelayev, Rotan, Nazarenko (Nazarenko 84), Husyev (Rebrov 61), Vorobey (Kosyrin 69).