The day before the start of Euro 2024, the national team of Ukraine held an open training session at the BRITA Arena stadium in Wiesbaden, the administrative center of Hesse.
Almost five thousand fans attended the official Euro event, most of them Ukrainians who were forced to leave their home country due to the full-scale invasion of Russian terrorists.
Before the start of the training, Hesse's Prime Minister Boris Rhein greeted the Ukrainian national team in the center of the field: "I am very pleased that Ukraine has qualified for the European Football Championship in Germany. Ukraine belongs to Europe and the European football family. I hope that the games played by the Ukrainian national team can bring some comfort to people at home, as well as to their compatriots who were forced to come to us in difficult times. All Ukrainians are visiting friends - during the Euro and beyond. I wish Ukraine success at the European Championship! Glory to Ukraine!" said Rein on Thursday at the open training session of the Ukrainian national team at the BRITA Arena in Wiesbaden.
Ukraine's coach Serhiy Rebrov thanked the hospitable hosts of the Euros: "We are already grateful to Germany, which is our important partner. We are grateful for the opportunities provided to us for training and playing, and we sincerely thank all the fans who came to support us. Glory to Ukraine!"
After singing the National Anthem of Ukraine together with the fans gathered at the BRITA Arena, the blue and yellows started training. All the exercises performed by the players were accompanied by applause and cheers from the fans. The fans loudly chanted the names of their favorites: "Mudryk, Yarmolenko, Lunin, Zinchenko, Taloverov, Sudakov..." In fact, each of the players heard their names many times today. The national team's ardent fans reacted just as vigorously to every well-aimed shot, great save or skillful ball reception.
The presence of spectators did not affect the training plan in any way. In addition to keeping the ball in the squares, the national team also had tactical tasks, including passing with completion, shots on goal after passes, and also worked in seven-on-seven games.
The training session was attended by 25 players - all except Vitaliy Mykolenko, who underwent an MRI yesterday. According to the national team's head doctor Roman Zholobaylyuk, the examination showed that Vitaliy managed to avoid the worst consequences after the Moldovan defender's tackle. Therefore, the medical staff began active rehabilitation of the player, which gives us hope to see Mykolenko on the field in Euro 2024 matches.
After completing their work on the field, the players paid attention to the fans, signing autographs and taking many selfies at the request of the fans. Of course, it is very difficult to satisfy everyone's interest, especially when there are almost five thousand of them, but the guys were in no hurry and walked the entire line of fans on one side of the field, and Oleksandr Zinchenko even quickly ran to the opposite side, where there were fewer fans, and also took a selfie and left an autograph for many of them.
As the Ukrainians left the stadium, they saw their team off with countless blue and yellow flags and shouts of "Glory to Ukraine!": from its first full day at Euro 2024, the Ukrainian national team felt the strong support and love of its fans, while also experiencing the special status of the final tournament.
