Theofficial website of the UAF shared fragments of a press conference of the head coach of the national team of Ukraine Serhiy Rebrov on the eve of the match of the 2nd round of the group stage of Euro 2024 with the national team of Slovakia, which will take place tomorrow in Dusseldorf.
"Everyone is responsible for the defeat against Romania. Both the coach and the players are to blame. I don't guess with the squad, but select players who are currently more suitable for the tactics, better prepared physically and ready to play at this level. The European Championship is the highest level. Each fan has his or her own vision, believes that there were definitely some problems with the squad. But I don't think so, and I am grateful to the players who came on as substitutes. They helped us, but unfortunately, the score did not change.
This game was very important for the whole country. After the match, the players talked to each other and asked why there was such a return. It's absolutely normal for guys to talk to each other. I left the locker room because the players asked me to do so - they wanted to talk to each other separately.
As for changes in the squad, there will probably be some. Vitaliy Mykolenko? Let's see. We have micro-injuries among the players, even today not everyone will be in the general group. We are playing at the Euros, and all the players tried to play to the best of their abilities. There are some injuries, but I hope everything will be fine. As for Vitaliy, he will start training with the team today. We have time, but Mykolenko hasn't trained for more than a week.
I have always considered Slovakia a strong team. They have skilled players who represent good clubs. When I analyzed them, I saw that they are very disciplined. It is important how they return to their positions, how they press. They understand how they can get results even without a lot of stars from top clubs. They defeated Belgium in great style. We respect them a lot. But it is also important to focus on our game.
When I worked with Valeriy Lobanovsky, he said: don't listen to anyone but your coach, don't worry about what journalists think, because they don't see the training sessions, they don't see what the goals were in the game. Therefore, the conclusions of the players themselves are very important. After the defeat, we analyzed the game. Everyone understands their mistakes, everyone understands that they have to go out on the field with more spirit and desire. It is really important because we understand the time we are playing in and who we represent. I expect a good game, because the previous one was a cold shower for us.
This is the Euro, the highest level. For some players, this is the first European Championship, and it is a great responsibility for them. But this is also a team that scored as many points in the group as Italy. We need to respect and support the team. Mistakes have been and will be made - this is unavoidable. We must forget the game against Romania and take the field at a new level, showing what lessons we have learned," said Serhii Rebrov.
