Georgi Buschan: "It was lucky that I kicked the ball and it hit the crossbar"

Goalkeeper of the national team of Ukraine Georgiy Buschan on air "Suspilny" summarised the results of the qualifying match against England (1:1), which took place yesterday in Wroclaw, Poland.

- You did not play in the previous match against England. How do you even return to such top matches, and also in such a packed arena?

- It is always special to play for the national team. I am very grateful to the head coach for entrusting me with a place in the squad. When we played England for the first time in this qualifying cycle, I had an injury. I worked hard to gain my conditioning. I had a good training camp with Dynamo in the summer, after which I played six matches for my club. At the same time, we played in Istanbul with filled stands. That is why it was pleasant to see so many Ukrainians at the stadium today. Their support drove us forward and in the fact that England failed to create anything at our gates, there is a great merit of the fans.

- Today the Ukraine national team was super toothy, which is very cool, but still conceded one goal. The goalkeeper has the best viewing angle, respectively, could you remember this single goal of England in our goal?

- The opponents controlled the ball in the centre of the pitch, there was a pass behind the back, our defender did not have time, unfortunately. Therefore, an England player came out with me one-on-one. I tried to react to the ball, but was unlucky.

- There was another sharp moment for England, namely Bukayo Saka, when the ball hit the crossbar of our goal. What do you think about this episode? It was very risky.

- Risky for whom? For us?

- Of course.

- This is football, it so happened that the English controlled the ball. We tried to act in such a way that our defence kept the England players in front of us. I also prepare for matches, watch how the opposing team's forwards act, so I knew that Saka scored most of his goals into the far corner. I was ready for it. I was lucky that I shot the ball and it hit the crossbar.

- So, you can say that the actions of the England forwards were predictable for you today?

- There are top-class players in the England national team, so there is no need to predict their actions - they are individually very strong. I was just lucky in that moment that I was able to get the ball.

- What are your expectations from the match with Italy?

- There is very little time to prepare for it, only two days. But I am sure that we will prepare for the game with Italy. And for now I can say one thing: we will try to play with the same dedication as today.