There are currently four Ukrainians playing in the MLS championship. The most experienced of them is the defender of the national team Alexander SvatokIn the summer of 2024, he moved to “Austin”, America.

In an exclusive interview with the site Spor.ua The football player talked about his performances at club level last season, but the main topic of our conversation was, of course, the Ukrainian national team, for which Alexander has now played 11 matches.

– Alexander, 2025 ends. How would you evaluate this for yourself in terms of football?

– You always want more but I guess I can count the year as an asset. I played a full season in MLS. “Austin” completed the minimum task and advanced to the play-offs, and the team also reached the Cup final. And undoubtedly, the struggles and matches of the Ukrainian national team are different from each other. Moreover, we still have a chance to participate in the 2026 World Cup.

– What’s interesting about the MLS championship?

– First of all, there is no gap between the teams. An outsider can defeat a leader and it won’t create a sensation for anyone. Every team has top players, especially attacking players who can make a difference. It is not easy for defenders to resist such masters.

– Where would MLS be compared to Europe?

– It’s hard to say. Football is developing rapidly here, but I think that teams in Europe are more disciplined and more compact, which gives them an advantage. Those who look better according to these parameters are more likely to achieve positive results.

– Did Inter Miami rightfully become champions?

– They were right because they won even though they lost many matches during the season. And in the final, Vancouver looked better than its opponent, but the Californians have veterans like Lionel Messi and some other players who can perform. This actually decided the fate of the conflict.

– Even though you were playing abroad, you were followed by the Ukrainian national team. Did you believe that you would be wanted in the national team when you went to the USA?

– How should I say it? I hoped so because before moving to Austin, I was called up to the national team under Sergei Rebrov. I realized that I had to do my job to the best of my ability and that the team had to be at the top of the rankings.

– But you made your debut for the national team under the management of Ruslan Rotan, with whom you played more than a dozen matches on the field.

– Really. I was both surprised and pleased that the coach trusted me with a place in the squad. My chances increased due to Ilya Zabarny’s injury. It was very exciting because I knew Ruslan Rotan, Sergei Kravchenko and Evgeniy Baryshnikov well. I really didn’t want to disappoint these people. It was an honor to make my debut against England and at Wembley. It’s a shame that the result doesn’t work (0:2).

– Which match would you choose as the best in the blue-yellow jersey?

– Possibly against Italy (0:0) in the Euro 2024 qualifiers and against Belgium (0:0) in the final stage of the European Championship. These were two important struggles. Our team was no worse than our opponents and we didn’t concede a goal, but Ukraine needed wins. Still, without exaggeration, these games can be considered an asset.

– But I probably don’t want to remember the second leg against the same Belgians, only in the Nations League play-offs…

– Yes really. These events haunted me for a long time. The first match was played against the Ukrainian national team – 3:1. In the rematch, the first half ended in a draw, everything seemed under control, but the goal in the 70th minute let us down. After a quick second goal, Lukaku put an end to the match.

– Then everyone asked the question: looking at the confident play of the Ukrainian national team in the first match, why did this happen?

– It’s hard to say. Football is about the little things. It’s hard to say just one reason. We collapsed psychologically after the first missed goal, but on the contrary, the opponent took wing.

– In the 2026 World Cup qualifying tournament, the Ukrainian team received a lot of criticism, especially after the first match against Azerbaijan (1:1). Do you agree with him?

– Partially yes. But now everyone has learned to play football. Not as an excuse, I will say that the grass in Baku is not of the best quality and this prevents our coaches from demonstrating their individual skills better. Our aggression was lacking somewhere, we could not distribute enough balls to the opponent’s penalty area. Azerbaijanis also played for their goals in a disciplined manner. We have to give them credit for that. But we had to beat the home team.

– Despite this, the “blue-yellows” advanced to the play-offs in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and will face Sweden in the semi-finals in March next year. What can you say about this competitor?

– The enemy is powerful and authoritarian. It will be a difficult match for both teams, but our team believes in its strength. We really want to go to the World Cup.

– I can’t help but ask about the potential rivals of the Ukrainian national team at the final stage of the competition: Netherlands, Japan and Tunisia?

– It is difficult for me to say anything about the Japanese and Tunisians right now, but on paper the Netherlands will probably be seen as the favorites of this group. But I don’t want to look that far yet; We need to beat the Swedes first.

– Do you follow the Ukrainian Championship?

– Yes. I am aware of everything, but I pay more attention to the teams I play or work with in Dnepr. Naturally, this “Polesie” also pleasantly surprised LNZ, I watch “Karpaty”, “Metalist 1925”. Of course, since our giants Shakhtar and Dinamo are in the group round of the Conference League, I cannot help but be interested in them.

– What goals do you set for yourself in the near future?

– Prepare well for the championship to improve the results in MLS and of course I also want to be in demand in the national team so that we can go to the World Cup with this.