Ukraine defender Vitalii Mykolenko commented on the upcoming Euro 2024 qualifying match against Malta.
Yesterday, the national team of Ukraine held an official training session at the National Stadium of Malta in Ta' Qala ahead of the match with the hosts. Vitalii Mykolenko, the blue-and-yellows' defender, shared his thoughts on this meeting.
"We spent a lot of energy in the match with Northern Macedonia, but we still have 24 hours to recover. Plus, we played the Macedonians before the Maltese played their match against Italy. I think we will recover well.
The Maltese national team is quite different from Northern Macedonia in terms of the scheme of play. The most important thing is that the Maltese also play with three centre-backs, so it will be a little easier for us to adjust to the new opponent. The Macedonians have a good attacking line-up, and so do the Maltese. They have quality speedy players.
Are the hosts outright outsiders? Our head coach correctly said that if we pay attention to other teams, we will forget about our own. If we go out and demonstrate our level and follow all the instructions, then everything will be fine. If we look at others too much, it will be difficult for us.
All the players will have a lot of responsibility - and not just the players on the attacking line. When you attack a lot, large areas in the defence are freed up. So everyone is responsible, even those who will be substitutes. The match with Malta is not a play-off match, it's just another game in the group, but we know that if we don't get three points in each game, we have little chance of qualifying for the European Championship," said Vitalii Mykolenko.