Ukraine coach to quit after Euro 2016 exit

Kiev (AFP) – Ukraine coach Mykhaylo Fomenko on Tuesday announced he was quitting after a hugely disappointing performance saw his team suffer the ignominious fate of being the first knocked out of Euro 2016.

Fomenko said he will leave his job after Ukraine play Poland in Marseille later Tuesday in their final game at the tournament.

“The match against Poland will be the last for me in this post,” Fomenko told Ukraine’s private Football TV channel.

Ukraine put up a brave performance against world champions Germany, losing 2-0, before going down by the same score to Northern Ireland, in a first win for the minnows at a European Championship.

The 67-year-old coach, who took over the national team in December 2012, blamed Ukraine’s failure on a lack of unity among the players, who include Sevilla’s left-winger Yevhen Konoplyanka.

Dynamo Kiev forward Andriy Yarmolenko and Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Taras Stepanenko were involved in an ugly scuffle on the pitch during a league game held just weeks before the Euro kicked off on June 10 in Paris.

Ukrainian media have speculated that Fomenko may be replaced by legendary striker Andriy Shevchenko, who starred at Dynamo Kiev and then shone in Italy with AC Milan.

Shevchenko, who also played two seasons at Chelsea before retiring in 2012, already serves as Fomenko’s assistant.