The head coach of the youth national team of Ukraine Ruslan Rotan spoke at a press conference on the eve of the 1/4 finals of Euro 2023 (U-21) against France, which will take place tomorrow in Cluj.
Ruslan Rotan- What are the team's personnel problems? Is Mudryk ready to play from the first minute?
- Now we have minor injuries, some players have more serious ones. For example, Viunnyk's participation in the game is questionable, we will decide on the day of the match. As for Mudryk, he has been working in the general group for two days now. It is quite possible that he will take the field.
- From the quarter-final stage, the VAR system will work at the Euros. Does it affect the players in any way?
- We are approaching a situation that is quite standard for European football, when all matches are played with the VAR system. We have to be as focused as possible, to understand from the very beginning that there are video replays. This applies not only to the defensive line, but also to all players on the field, discipline in general.
- What are the strengths of the French national team?
- The French national team is one of the strongest teams we meet in this tournament. There are players who almost all play in the top championships. This already says a lot. Individually, they are very strong, we saw it ourselves in the qualifiers when we played two matches with them.
Tomorrow is a very important game for us, which will be held in one-on-one components, when we need to win micro duels that will arise on the field. I mean a one-on-one game, at close distances, where the players of the French national team are highly skilled. But we must be ready, be a disciplined, compact team, despite this, match our level of play, from which we are not going to deviate. Let the opponent adjust to us.
- Before the quarter-finals, is it important to motivate the players in some way, or is it better to lower the temperature somewhere? That is, the players feel confident and don't need motivational speeches...
- You get better when you play with the best. I told the guys about it. They will play with the best players, perhaps the best team in the tournament. For us, the main motivation is to become better than them. So if we win tomorrow, we can't think of a better motivation. This is a test for our team. I believe that my guys deserve better. The best motivation is to become the best among the best.
