On Saturday, 14 October, the Ukrainian national team defeated North Macedonia 2-0 in a Euro 2024 qualifying match. The meeting was nominally a home game for the Ukrainian national team, but because of the war it was held in Prague. Here is the post-match press conference of the head coaches of the teams.
Serhiy REBROV, head coach of the Ukraine national team:
- How weighty was the factor of fans' support today?
- Support always helps. I am very grateful to our fans. I said before the match that we are also grateful to the Czech Republic for giving us the opportunity to prepare for this match here and providing the stadium for it. Today there was really a very good atmosphere, it helped the players, it is very important.
- What do you think of the North Macedonia national team?
- I think that this team has a very strong attack, made up of very good performers. The Macedonian national team demonstrated this once again today
- Are you satisfied with the refereeing? It seemed that there were too many stoppages in the match.
- The game was very important for both teams, so there were a lot of clashes, a lot of fighting. Besides, when one of the teams scores a goal, there is probably a lot more fighting. I think that the referee managed the game today.
- Can we expect rotation in the Ukraine national team for the match with Malta?
- Yes, we can. Now we have the same situation as we had after the match with England in September before the match with Italy. I can still say that the most important thing now is how the guys will recover after such a hard game. Moreover, it was hard not only the game, but also the pitch. I think that our players gave all their emotions and strength today. Therefore, these two days we need to recover. Before the match with Malta, we will see who is in what condition, and based on this we will make a decision about the squad.
- What do you think about Mudryk's prospects, taking into account all the problems he is experiencing?
- But it's your opinion that he has problems, not mine. How old is Mudrick? Do you really expect him to play like Messi at his age? Mudryk is trying to play better step by step. When you play at a club like Chelsea, that's important.
You are asking about the prospects of a player who is already playing at Chelsea. Mudryk has everything ahead of him, he is working very hard.
I do not think that today he had a bad game. He helped the team a lot. And the fact that he did not score - it happens in football. But he tries and creates chances.
Blagoja MILEVSKI, head coach of the North Macedonia national team:
- First of all, congratulations to the Ukraine national team on the victory. I hope the fans who came to the stadium today enjoyed the game of both teams. Because, in my opinion, it was a really good game both in the performance of the national team of Ukraine and the team of North Macedonia.
Despite the negative result, I want to thank my team for the game. And especially for the way they reacted to the first conceded goal.
At halftime we changed the scheme of the game, and it paid off: we started to dominate on the pitch and created 3-4 good chances to score. But, unfortunately, we could not equalise, so now we are, of course, disappointed, but, again, I congratulate my players for showing a very good, powerful game.
Alexander POPOV from Prague
