In the second September match in the League of Nations, "blue-yellow" defeated Armenia (5:0) in Yerevan. After the game, Oleksandr Petrakov, head coach of the Ukrainian national team, spoke at the press conference.
Oleksandr Petrakov— What conclusions can you draw from this game for the upcoming match against Scotland?
- Football is very cruel. On September 21, I was in the same position as the coach of Armenia and his entire team. That's why I now want to support Joaquin Caparros, because they got under our rink.
— How would you rate Ignatenko's game today?
— I don't like to single out any one player. Soccer is a team sport. For example, any goal is not a single mistake, but a chain of mistakes. Therefore, there is no need to single out someone in a team game. The previous match was lost, now our opponent is in despair. The entire team must be singled out.
— Should we expect the same starting line-up for the next match?
— I have already spoken about it. I always take risks. I will think about what the composition will be. For me, this criticism was difficult at the beginning of my work, but now I am not afraid of criticism.
— How surprised are you with this result?
— I'm not surprised. It was very good when, after a painful defeat, the boys understood everything and did everything. This is purely their victory. As a coach, I am very pleased that they did not give up. I thank them very much, well done.
— Many were shocked by the appearance of 11 new players in the starting line-up...
— I want to emphasize that there are no main players in my national team - we have a single team. Cannot be in the national team of the first and second team. There are football players who play in their clubs, where there is a different atmosphere, competition. The guys came out, they didn't let us down, it was hard. There are footballers who do not have much game practice in their clubs. I reassured them, I trusted them, they did everything. We are still in the game, we want revenge. And how will it turn out... We want to beat Scotland, we will do our best, but I don't know how it will turn out.
