Artem Milevsky: "There is a lot of hate, the guys in the Ukrainian national team understand it all perfectly well"

On Friday, June 21, Ukraine's national team will play its second match at Euro 2024 against Slovakia. Former Dynamo forward Artem Milevsky shared his expectations for the match.

- Artem, you played for the Ukrainian national team against Slovakia. Do you have any interesting stories to tell?

- I posted a story on Instagtam where I beat the opponent, pass to Sela (Yevhen Selezniov - ed.) and he scores. It was a good combination, I smiled so much, my mood was so high. I immediately sent a voice message to Selya, saying, "Selya, do you remember how we punished those Slovaks? He said: "Yes, yes, I remember, there was a case in Cyprus." Well, something like that. And I don't even remember when we played with them, these Slovaks, to be honest. The guys later, our other generation, they often played with the Slovaks.

- What do you expect from the Ukrainian national team in the match against Slovakia at Euro 2024?

- I already said after the game against Romania that I believe in the guys. There is a lot of hate, and the guys are well aware of it. They don't need to be poked and prodded with it once again. Everyone is pointing, pointing, pointing. So I understand their condition. I think that they will approach the Slovaks with a different character and different emotions. I believe that everyone, each of them understands, and each of them wants to prove everything. They are good players who can beat the Slovaks. So we have nowhere to retreat. If you're going to be a fan, you have to bet on Ukraine's victory.

- Can you predict the exact score and the authors of the goals?

- Well, it's very difficult. I don't know, well, I can say whether a person will be a substitute. Especially after the first game. After Romania, there will probably be changes. And there will be a normal story. I want Yarmolenko to score. Well, it's hard to say the exact score. We need a victory, no matter what the score.

- Make a wish for our national team for the match with the Slovaks.

- They are all very high level players. Sitting on the couch, I will be worried and rooting for them, like many Ukrainians. I believe that you need to turn on your character. I wish everyone who will take the field, who will replace Serhiy Stanislavovych, only victory.

Andriy PAVLECHKO