Ruslan Rotan: "The guys need to be praised, they are good"

he head coach of the national team of Ukraine Ruslan Rotan commented on the result of the Euro 2024 qualifying match against England (0: 2) on the UAF Youtube channel.

- Ruslan Petrovich, did the high performance of the England players make all the difference?

- Yes, indeed. We expected the first half to be tough. I think if we could have survived until the break, maybe the second half would have been better. But we conceded two goals in the locker room, which is a psychological blow to any team. But the guys should be praised, they did well - they tried to restore the balance as much as possible. However, England is stronger today, and this must be recognized.

- What was the plan for the second half when the score was 2-0 in favor of the opponent?

- When you concede two goals before the break, the psychological state is not the best, so the guys needed to be encouraged to be more aggressive in attack and not sit deep in defense. They gave it their all, but a lot of things didn't work out in the attack, and we have to admit that. Nevertheless, I believe we have a team, a strong team. Victories are still ahead.

- You made a triple substitution in the middle of the second half. Was it an attempt to change the course of the game anyway?

- As for Sobol's appearance, before the game we had a doubt about Mykolenko, who had back problems. As for Tsygankov and Buyalsky, we expected them to step up their game in the second half if we hadn't conceded before the break. We could have expected more from these players if the score had not been opened. But we didn't.

- What was the main reason for the defeat?

- The performance of the England players, thanks to which the opponent took advantage of their moments. We continue to play with our heads held high, our team still has everything ahead of us.