Slovakia midfielder Ondrej Duda said what he thinks about today's match against Ukraine in the 2nd round of the group stage of Euro 2024 in Group E, and also touched on the topic of the war in Ukraine.
"This match will be the final for both us and Ukraine. However, when it comes to the European Championship, it applies to any match of the tournament. So we understand that Ukraine will take the field with the desire to beat us. And we are ready for it.
What worries me the most? The presence of strong players in the Ukraine national team. We have analyzed this team, coaches have shown us its strengths and weaknesses. And I can say one thing: to achieve a result we will have to leave everything on the field, nothing easy awaits us against Ukraine.
As for our strengths, in the match against Belgium (1:0 - editor's note) we were all united and at the expense of this we won. We lack individual skill, so we have to compensate it with teamwork.
War in Ukraine? Both the players of the Ukraine national team and all Ukrainians are in a difficult situation now, I don't want to discuss it too much. They are exactly fighting for their country. And it concerns us as well - we are very close, we are neighbors of Ukraine. But this is not the ideal moment for me to comment on it in detail," Duda said during the pre-match press conference.