Everton and Ukraine defender Vitalii Mykolenko in an interview with the national team's press service spoke about preparations for the Euro 2024 qualifying match against Northern Macedonia.
Vitaly Nikolenko- Vitaliy, the weather is not very good these days. How does it affect your training?
- The weather is normal, football weather. Someone had a recovery, someone had a full training session. Everything is fine.
- Everyone is already focused on the upcoming match with the North Macedonian national team.
- Yes, but not all the players have arrived at the national team's location yet. We are not yet at full strength, today was a recovery day. And on Tuesday, I think, there will be a theory about the game of North Macedonia, as well as an analysis of our game with Italy. This will be the start of full preparation.
- What was the most memorable thing about the first match against North Macedonia? Perhaps not the best condition of the pitch?
- When the Italian national team played them, the pitch was in really bad condition, and in our match it was more or less the same. It was not the pitch that prevented us from playing like that against them, but our game. But we managed to win. In the upcoming match, I think all the players will draw conclusions, and the coaching staff will help us play the right way.
- Which team did you support at today's training session?
- For Nazariy Rusyn.
- Did he score or not?
- I remember that he didn't score much, and that's why they lost.
- You have been friends for a long time. Are you trying to support him?
- I hope it will give him confidence - this second call-up to the national team. I'm sure he's here for a reason and will be able to help the national team, whether it's on the pitch or in training. Everyone comes to the national team to help the team get three points.
- He moved to the Championship. Has England already changed him?
- I don't know, we'll see. I haven't seen him on the pitch, but I think he has a different life at home. Something new, he is learning something. I think he will only grow every day.
- Has he invited you to Sunderland's match yet?
- He came to visit me before the national team, so I hope that I will have some time off and my girlfriend and I will come to support him.
- The main thing is to help him learn English. Does he have a teacher?
- He has a teacher. But I can't say that I know English very well myself, so I won't "poison" him too much. Whether you like it or not, you need to learn the language because you are there, you need to communicate with your teammates, in everyday life.
