Belarus vs Albania: Nations League win will give chance at Euro-2028

For 30 years, the national team of Belarus has never made it to the European Championship. On November 15, the team of Viktor Gancharenko had a chance to change this history: in the decisive match of the League of Nations with Albania, a victory is needed. The ONT correspondent analyzes what she will give and why this team for the first time in a long time evokes such a response from fans.

For 30 years, the Belarusian national football team has never been able to make it to the European Championship. Whenever the qualifying stage began, we waited with secret hope that this bad tradition would finally be interrupted, but, alas, we did not have a chance

The light at the end of the tunnel seems to have broken. Under the new UEFA rules, let's say diplomatically, non-top teams have an extra chance. And gives him a successful performance in the League of Nations. Victory in your group allows you to further argue for a ticket to the European Championship in 2028. But the path is not so simple. This week, our football team, headed by Viktor Gancharenko, confidently defeated in San Marino, 2: 0.

On November 15, the decisive match with Albania. Winning this match will give us first place in the group and, accordingly, will give us that extra chance. About football battles this autumn on the sidelines of the League of Nations and the Belarusian championship.

The team is preparing for the decisive matches. Now there is a chance to get a promotion in the class in the Nations League. This is how we perceive each success, because for a long time our team did not fight for anything and did not show the results that appeared. And most importantly, the game resonated in the hearts of fans.

The national team of Belarus by this time has three victories in a row. What in official matches in our history has not happened before. That's a record! San Marino and Finland were beaten twice. At the same time, the Belarusians did not miss a single ball in these matches. What, of course, is the merit of goalkeeper Fedor Lapoukhov, who is no less called the future star of the German Bundesliga. And the hunt for him launched scouts, at least a dozen famous clubs.

Now the team has 10 points in the asset. The final match of the League of Nations against Albania will be decided. But the task is at least accomplished. Even in case of defeat, the Belarusians will have a chance to play in play-offs in the spring for the right to raise their class to League B. This is a completely different level of competition.

What is the phenomenon or difference between the team of Viktor Gancharenko and the teams of other coaches who worked with the team before? We asked this question to people who know football. The champion of the Soviet Union and a man who played in the same teams with Cristiano Ronaldo, Maldini, Nesta, Inzagi and other stars.

Vitaly Kutuzov, player of the Belarusian national football team (2002-2011): The guys are quite qualified, there is a certain amount of experience, there are young people who need confidence. But it's formed partly by coaching staffos, partly by the team, compactness is present. That's probably the biggest thing he's done. There was compactness, passion, mood of the team – the team is alive. When a team is alive, you can evolve with it, achieve something more, progress, look for new approaches.

Ludas Rumbutis, USSR football champion: Self-sacrifice at games, concentration in games. Remember how the cycle began, they began to play with the Greeks - there was the 10th minute 0: 2, 0: 3, skem was still playing, the first two games twisted like a bagel on a brazier. And now there is no such thing, they play together, with a soul and, probably, for someone, not only for themselves, for the country, probably.

And what many say: there is a special chemistry in this team. Despite the fact that the team gathered footballers of different generations (young people really a lot). Just look at those emotions after the big match against Finland. By the way, we didn't beat anyone. Rival's tough. They in the past draw literally one step was not enough to get to the World Cup.

It's not just emotions. Still backed up by the game. Reliable, without strong drops, without failure segments. It’s nice to see this kind of football.

But the backbone of this team is the players of the championship of Belarus “ML Vitebsk” and “Dynamo-Minsk”. So our domestic tournament isn't that bad. As it may seem at first glance. And the fight for gold there for two rounds before the finish is also there. Three clubs at once. Serious fight to the grandees gives "Isloch", although before the start few believed in it.

In general, the national team of Belarus held a cool tournament. Not all of it yet. And no matter how it ended, we have already risen in the rankings, and most importantly, we have raised our self-esteem and believed that we can play at a decent level and, most importantly, win. The only thing that overshadowed this league of nations was the serious injury of key defender Vladislav Kalinin. I wish you a speedy recovery. And how cool Gancharenko supported him! That's where he started the press conference before the crucial game. No tactics or tasks. It's human.

Viktor Gancharenko, head coach of the Belarusian national football team: We were afraid of more, there is a ligament and cartilage. We wish Vlad a speedy recovery. The minutes he was with us on the field were a stronghold of reliability. Because equally, for a player to be able to play in the center of defense [...] and on the right flank is a good help for any coach, not only the reliability of defense, but also the promotion of the ball.

The victory in the group of the League of Nations will bring the national team of Belarus a direct ticket to League B and an additional bonus in the selection for the European Championship-2028. If second place, we’ll try next time. And third place -- Stop. We won't go below the second. There are Finns who have confused sports with politics.

It seems that the head coach really helped this team to believe in themselves. Remember? This already happened when it was under the leadership of Gancharenko that BATE adequately played against Juventus, Real Madrid and beat Bayern. Then success was associated primarily with the mood and charge of the team. How will it be now? We believe in the psychology of winners, which is sometimes more important than skill. Football should be played not only with your feet but also with your head.

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