Ruslan Rotan: "It was Rebrov who called first, not Pavelko".

Acting head coach of the Ukraine national team Ruslan Rotan told about his appointment as the coach of the national team for the Euro 2024 qualifying round match against England.

"The first call came from Rebrov, the second call came from Pavelko, the third call came from Andriy Yarmolenko. I could not believe in such a proposal, that it was possible. Then, when we started talking, I took time to think. I thought it all over, assessed. The situation is such that you can't refuse when you're trusted to defend the honor of your country. You can't say no. We understand what the situation is, there is a war going on in the country.

If you look at it, not every coach will agree to play a match against England. We should have made a decision. If he had said "no", he would have been bad. If I had said yes, it would have been bad too. That's why the situation is simple for me. That is my fate.

Who initiated my invitation? Sergey Stanislavovich. Maybe he sees me as a prospect. Maybe he likes the way the youth national team plays soccer. I know that he follows us", - Rotan said on YouTube channel "TaToTake".