Famous commentator Ihor Tsyhanyk shared his thoughts on the sparring match between the Ukrainian national team and Brentford and his expectations from the English voyage
Igor Tsygany- What do you expect from the Ukrainian national team in this friendly? What surprises is Rotan preparing and what unexpected things can we expect from his team?
- What surprises can there be? Everything is clear and the starting lineup is known. You just need to give people the opportunity to play, because the personnel problems that exist ... Everyone comes out alive and tries to fight.
I think that in the first half we will see the starting lineup that will play in the match against England. God willing, there will be no injuries, the guys will play a little bit, they will understand what should be there, where and how. Perhaps the coaching staff will make some personnel adjustments before the game, one or two may be made by Rotan.
And so, what can we expect? Well, we are playing and playing. It would be better not to play, to be honest.
- Is the idea of mixed friendly matches between clubs and national teams normal nowadays? Can this sparring be useful?
- We live now in such conditions that we have obligations to sponsors, FIFA, UEFA, as far as I understand, we have to pause certain matches to have a certain rating. This is how I understand it. Maybe not a rating, but it is an obligation.
The English insisted on playing because they have Italy, and we are approaching them without a match. This can also be a problem for them. But this way they will see who is in what condition, watch, analyze who they play against. To be honest, this match is more important for the English than for us.
- What will Rotan manage to do during this time? Can a coach change anything in the national team during such a period?
- What can he do? At this stage, any coach who would come would not have time. Rotan has a certain period of time to play. The starting lineup is roughly clear:
Trubin, Matvienko, Bondar. Perhaps Popov will play here. Karavaev on the right, Mykolenko on the left. Stepanenko, Malinowski, Zinchenko. On the left - Mudryk, on the right - Tsygankov. In the attack, I think Rotan will play Yaremchuk from the first minutes.
Do we have any other options? I think not. Perhaps Sudakov and Dovbyk will come on as substitutes. But otherwise, Rotan does not have any special options. We have these players and we need to get the result we can with them.
- Name one player who is superfluous in this team and who was not called up for nothing?
- I won't name anyone superfluous, because I can't decide for the coach. I don't understand why Shevchenko was called up and not Volynets, because he was called up and plays steadily, and Shevchenko has been out of the game for two years. Perhaps because Rotan saw his condition at Oleksandriya. However, he is the third goalkeeper of the national team, I don't think it will come to him.
Ignatenko is missing. I don't understand why he is not on the main list.
- What do you see as the biggest problems of the Ukrainian national team under Rotan?
- The biggest problem for any coach is the low level of the UPL. The players don't get the competition they used to get when we had a bright and good championship. What do we have now? Imagine that we are from the second league in the Champions League playing against the English. The players are good, but their progress is slow due to the lack of competition. This is the main problem. We need to rely on those players who play abroad - that's all.
- Is there a possibility that Rotan will become a permanent coach for the national team now?
- I think there is no such option. He has a job at the club and the national team. We are all waiting and we know that Rebrov should come.
Yevhen Chepu
