Honoured Coach of Ukraine Ivan Balan shared his expectations of the Ukrainian national team's performance at Euro 2024.
- A few days ago, the Ukrainian national team began preparations for participation in the final part of Euro 2024. What do you expect from Serhiy Rebrov's team at the continental football forum?
- (Confidently and cheerfully) Only positive emotions! Everything is in our hands, everything is in our brains. It is clear that we would like luck not to turn away. As Vladimir Semyonovich Boyko, the former general director of Mariupol Metallurgical Works and the honourable president of the football club, used to say: "Hai shchastya!".
- The first in the process of preparation for the European championship for our national team will be a control match with Germany. How useful do you think the match with such a serious opponent will be?
- First of all, the game with the Germans will show the readiness of our national team. There seems to be time before the European Championship, but on the other hand there is no more time. Now you can not train much, so at this stage such things as tactics, psychological attitude, thinking and other important components come to the fore. We need to put everything together to get it the way it should be.
The main thing is that there were no injuries in control games - so that by the start of the national team of Ukraine at Euro-2024 all players were fully healthy, and the head coach had a headache about who exactly to put for this or that match from the large availability of equivalent candidates, rather than to choose from a set of players. I wish our national team to succeed. So we wait and live in hope that it will. We all want it very much.
Vyacheslav Kulchitsky