Ukraine's Sydorchuk: "We had played a nasty joke on ourselves"

Serhiy Sydorchuk

of Ukraine feels his team was their own greatest nemesis in their

loss to England, claiming they

"played a nasty joke"

on themselves. 

Andriy Shevchenko's squad suffered a painful quarter-final exit at Stadio Olimpico in Rome, with a brace from Harry Kane and goals from Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson. 

After the game, Dynamo Kyiv midfielder Sydorchuk stated that his country only had itself to blame for how they were eliminated after falling short of expectations.

"These are our mistakes," Sydorchuk told the

after the game. "The standards we showed was like we had played a nasty joke on ourselves.

"We had a plan for the game. We knew that England often press well in the first 25 minutes and then sag, but due to their quick goal, we failed to to fulfill it.

"We did not need to deviate from our plan, the structure was good, but again in the second half, we let in a quick goal. After that, it was difficult to get back into the game."

According to the 30-year-old midfielder, Ukraine's exit from the Euro 2020 campaign should not detract from the underdog side's extraordinary performance in yet another topsy-turvy competition. 

Ukraine defeated powerhouses, including the defending European champions

Portugal

and World Cup winners

France

to reach the quarter-finals of a major tournament for the second time, after doing so in 2006 in Germany, when manager Shevchenko was their superstar. 

"It is not the best feeling, because of this result," he added. "That is why it is sad, but if we take away the result of this match, then we had a pretty good tournament."

From the four teams that will compete at Wembley this week, Sydorchuk has chosen his favorite to win the European Championship, adding:

"Who deserves to win? I think Italy are closer to victory."

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