On Friday, 8 March, Ukraine's head coach Serhiy Rebrov held a press conference at the House of Football in Kyiv dedicated to the national team's March matches.
We shall remind you that on 21 March the Ukrainian national team will play against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Zenica within the semi-final of the play-offs of the Euro-2024 qualifying cycle. After that, the Ukrainian national team will play in Wroclaw on 26 March: either the play-off final with the winner of the semi-final between Israel and Iceland (in case of victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina) or a friendly match with the loser of this pair.
First of all, Serhiy Rebrov announced the list of players who have been summoned to the location of the Ukraine national team to prepare for the upcoming matches, and then answered the journalists' questions.
- What is the situation with Zinchenko? He has already missed five matches for Arsenal, and the club remains silent.
- I am in touch with Oleksandr, we talk a lot. I am aware of the situation with his injury: I hope he will be in the Arsenal squad for the next match. And whether he will play or not, it is up to the coach to decide.
Zinchenko has two more matches ahead of him for Arsenal - one in the English league, one in the Champions League. We will watch him. The main thing is that he is already training in the general group, and that is why he has been called to this training camp. I am sure that he will help the national team.
- To what extent can we count on Zinchenko, given that he missed more than a month?
- I do not know yet. There is still a lot of time before the start of the training camp. For now I am grateful to our clubs for agreeing to release their players to the national team earlier. In this we will have a certain advantage over the national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina: there is only one Bosnian in this team, and all the rest are legionnaires, and therefore they do not have the opportunity to start training earlier. And we have time.
As for our legionnaires, now foreign clubs have a lot of postponements. But only Mudryk will come to us on the 17th of March, and the rest of the guys will be at our disposal earlier. So, in general, we will have time to see the condition of the players and make a decision on the lineup for the match.
- Which of the goalkeepers, called up for this training camp, are expected to be in the main squad?
- I can`t say now. But I am very pleased that all our goalkeepers have game practice. This is very good. Lunin plays for Real Madrid, yesterday I watched the match of Benfica with Trubin in goal. Just before the match we will decide who will play. The clubs have enough matches ahead - both in the national championships and in the Champions League. But, I repeat, I am satisfied that all our goalkeepers have game practice.
- Assess the form of the forwards called up for this training camp.
- I am pleased that Yaremchuk is now getting game practice. He works hard, I am happy for him, I am glad that he scored, that he plays for Valencia.
Dovbik, unfortunately, has not scored lately, but I see how he works for the team and that the team trusts him.
I'm happy that Sican is playing in his position. He used to play in the winger position a lot. I'm not saying it's bad, but I think it's not his position. I also like the desire with which Sican works. That's why we call him to this training camp. We hope that he will come with pleasure.
The most important thing is that the guys have game practice. And in the training process we will see who is ready and in what condition.
- What does Vanatu lack to reach your level?
- My level??? Vanatu has his own level. And enough to play in the national team. That's why he's being called up for this training camp.
- The question about the Olympics. Will our clubs be ready to release players to the youth national team 3-4 rounds before the end of the Ukrainian championship?
- I think that we should all help Ruslan Rotan to have a competitive team. Especially, we will play at the Olympics for the first time, we have no such experience.
On the other hand, at this time Dynamo and Shakhtar will surely have crucial matches. We need to talk to the clubs, their managers, coaches. The Olympics is a very important tournament. In general, any appearance of Ukraine in the international arena is very important now and we need to have a competitive team. We will do everything possible for this. I am sure that it is important for foreign clubs to be represented by their players at the Olympics.
- Were there any requests from the coaches of the youth national team of Ukraine to bring Vanat for the March training camp?
- It is important to have diverse players in the team, even within one position. Vanat is not a forward like, for example, Dovbik or Yaremchuk. He can do something different. That is why we called so many players: you do not know in advance who you will need in a particular match with a particular opponent, you do not know in advance how you may have to change the game. I have seen Vanat both in training sessions with Dynamo and in matches, and I am sure that he will help us.
- Can we say that now Brazhko will take Stepanenko's place in the Ukraine national team?
- Brazhko was called up because Stepanenko is injured now. We`ll see what will be the dynamics of Taras` recovery. Maybe we will call him up for the second match in March. And Volodymyr deserves a call-up to the national team with his play for the youth national team and constant game practice at Dynamo.
In the future we will need to use young players: time goes forward, we need to attract new performers. So this is an important challenge not only for Brazhko, but also for the youth players: they clearly see now that we react to their successes in the team. So, in the future we will call the youth team players to the national team.
- What is the situation with Yarmolenko? Have you talked to him? If yes, about what?
- About football. I talk to everyone. It is a pity that Andriy did not recover by this training camp. He really wanted it, as well as he really wanted to help Dynamo in the second half of the season. But, unfortunately, Andriy is still recovering. I wish him to come back as soon as possible - both we and Dynamo need him. Meanwhile, unfortunately, Yarmolenko is not in the condition to get a call-up to the national team.
- What can you say about the national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina?
- I think that the fifth place they took in the qualifying group of Euro 2024 is not what this team deserved. But it is what it is. The Bosnia and Herzegovina national team has already got a third coach in a year. I saw from the last matches that Savo Milosevic (the current head coach of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team - editor's note)was doing a lot of rotation. So it's hard to say who will play against us.
We have watched a lot of matches involving our opponent. But, I repeat, all the players of this team play in Europe, only one - in Bosnia. It is a tough team, we must be ready for them. But we need to think first of all about ourselves: if we don't show the game we need to show, there will be no point in talking about the opponent. We have a tough opponent, but we need to think about our game and prepare. So everything is in our power.
- The more Ukrainian players in Europe, the better for you?
- I think it is very important for Ukraine. I remember when I worked with Yarmolenko in Dynamo Kyiv, he had obviously outgrown the level of the Ukrainian championship, I could see it. And then he continued to progress in another championship.
Both for the national team and for Ukraine it is important that our players go to other champions and show that Ukraine exists.
I will give a simple example. When I won two championship titles with Dynamo Kyiv, I saw that the players of the team were not so motivated. So when a person plays in the UPL for 3-4 seasons, he has a desire to reach a new level. And for us it is important that our players move to another level, so that they are motivated.
- At what stage is the implementation of your idea to return the youth championship of Ukraine?
- For some reason, as soon as I say something in an interview, coaches and specialists start asking about it. But when I talked about this topic with coaches, they were almost all in favour. Because the youth championship is the existence of teams from which coaches can draw players for the future.
Yes, this is my desire, I want to bring back the U-21 championship so that there would be more young players with game practice in this tournament. It's not possible now, but I will promote that idea, it's important for me, so I will continue to have dialogue with the clubs.
- Have you already considered possible schemes for the game against Bosnia?
- I have. But there is no point in talking about it now. We have announced the list of players for this training camp, but they still have matches in clubs, anything can happen. But when they arrive, we'll see what condition they are in, and then we'll decide. We do not have such players that we can use 3-4 tactics.
- Should we expect some innovative variants of announcing the national team squad in the future, for example, as in Brazil?
- Now we are all happy with any variants, which are found and demonstrated by the WSU. And some pompous presentations are inappropriate now.
- The Ukrainian national team is considered the favourite in the match with the national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Does this status not hinder you?
- It does not hinder me. I hope it doesn`t hinder the players either. Recently Italy was the favourite in the match with us, but we had to win in the last minute. The game can turn out differently. For example, yesterday Dynamo Kyiv missed the victory in the last minute because of a penalty. Nobody knows how the match will turn out. But, as I said, we need to think about ourselves and prepare for the upcoming match very firmly. Including mentally. Because this match decides the fate of the country at the Euro. But we already have experience of such matches - we recently played at this stage with Scotland and Wales. So, I am sure, the guys are ready for a new challenge.
As for the status of favourites, we play away, and it is always very difficult. That's why we called up a lot of players with experience, including in the international arena. I am confident in these players.
- How would you assess the level of coaches of UPL clubs? Do they consult with you?
- We have a high enough level of coaches of UPL teams. If they need something from me, I am always open. For example, with the coaches of "Kolos" I talked for an hour, they were interested in how I worked, how I see this or that situation. I am always happy to help. I think that in our championship now is a very difficult time. I am grateful to all the coaches who work here. Including foreign ones. And I am ready to provide any help.
I saw the level of our teams at the training camp in Turkey, I was there for almost a week. And I can say that this level is quite high. And the first matches of the second part of the Ukrainian championship show that uncompromising fight will be fought not only for the prizes. But the most important thing is that we finish our championship and work further.
Alexander POPOV from the House of Football
