Ukraine U-21 head coach Unai Melgosa commented on the upcoming Euro 2025 qualifiers against Luxembourg and Azerbaijan.
Unai MelgosaOn hosting matches in Murcia
- We had different offers, but one of the key options was not available. Then I asked the UAF to look for other options, as good weather and a good pitch were important to me. So, there were different options, and then the option with Murcia appeared, and we chose it.
Will the support in Murcia be as strong as it was in Slovakia? I don't know. A lot of Ukrainians moved to Spain after the war started, and they live in different regions of the country, including Murcia. So I hope that people will want to come and support us. But as I always say, we have to give the fans more than they give us.
On the players called up for the matches against Luxembourg and Azerbaijan
- Several new players have been called up so that we can get to know them. In particular, players born in 2002, because we have to start calling up younger players to gain experience. So we want to check them out. We follow players from all over the world.
There is also Vladyslav Vanat, who comes from the national team. I talked to Serhii Rebrov, who said that he would not play in this window, so he will get this opportunity with us. It is important that Vanat will be with us. We want to know the players better. Yes, we see what they show in matches for the club, but maybe we can try something different. It is very important to have your own vision of the situation.
On preparing for the matches against Luxembourg and Azerbaijan
- The training camp started on Tuesday, 14 November, just like the previous training camps. Once we had a practice on Monday in Slovakia, but the players did not arrive on time. Monday is a travel day, it takes a lot of time to cross the border, you never know how long it will take. In addition, there are players who played on Sunday, we have their participation rates and they need to recover.
Usually, I like to talk to the players and ask them how they feel. They are quite professional in this case, no one is trying to just get an extra day off. They are motivated - they want to train, they want to play for Ukraine, to be in the national team.
But in this case, we need to see if the players are physically and mentally ready. Sometimes we change the training process: we hold a game practice on Tuesday afternoons, and in the morning we do something for recovery.
About Ukraine's next U-21 rivals
- We have seen several games of both rivals - Luxembourg and Azerbaijan. As for Luxembourg, I have the same impression as I had before the first match - this is a team with a lot of desire, quite organised, it has good players, especially fast players in attack. We have to be careful with this team, especially after the 3-0 win in the first leg. Then I exhaled only after we scored the third goal, which was around the 92nd minute of the match. Luxembourg play more on the counter-attack, they are quite aggressive, and we know that.
As for Azerbaijan, sometimes it seems that they play more vertical football, they are in a fairly deep defence. But they also have young, technical players in attack. Azerbaijan won the match against Luxembourg, although they were a little bit lucky with the goals. But in the second half of that match, I think they also performed well in other episodes. When the Azerbaijanis were losing, we saw how they changed the game and how well they can perform.
But first of all, we need to think about ourselves. England beat Serbia 9-1 and then couldn't beat us. So we have to take this into account as well - we play after a good result against the English, and you might think that these teams are not at our level. But no, you have to keep your level up all the time. Sometimes we play against teams that don't seem to be that strong, but they get a result because it's football and anything can happen in 90 minutes.
On Ilya Kvasnytsia's prospects of being called up to the Ukrainian national team
- Is Kvasnytsia any closer to the national team? I don't know, it's a question for Serhii Rebrov, not me. I don't like to talk much about players individually because they are still quite young, still not in the national team. Kvasnytsia, like all the other players, needs to keep working. His next step is to come to the youth team, have a good training session and try to play as much time as possible. All the players in the youth team take this very seriously, and you need to take your game seriously too - get better at every training session, learn, ask questions.
On Yehor Yarmoliuk's debut and matches in the Premier League
- I don't know why the coach decided to give him playing time in the Premier League. I think a lot of things came together. I mean, I don't think it's directly related to his play for the youth team, that he played well here. I think it's because he works well in his team and, most importantly, he understands the requirements.
But playing for the national team is also an opportunity to prove yourself. When players are in the youth system, they play against good teams. Of course, the last match against England had a major impact, probably, but when we play against Luxembourg or Azerbaijan, everyone will be looking at them. Not only me, but also Serhii [Rebrov] and the other coaches. This is a good chance for the players.
On the goal for the next matches of the national team of Ukraine
- I will repeat: the most important thing for me is that everyone is as close to their maximum as possible. Starting with me, so that I am focused on the goals of the team, the players, everything that is happening around me. If I do a good job, I think I can then help the players. That's the most important thing for me.
If we are close to our best version, then I think we have a good chance of continuing to grow and winning these matches.
