Serhiy Chuichenko, a well-known Ukrainian striker in the recent past, spoke about his expectations for today's Nations League match, in which the Ukrainian national team will play Albania in Prague.
Sergiy Chuichenko- The Albanian national team is a solid mid-level team that has long since learned how to play football. This has been evident for years, including in previous matches with our national team. And no matter which of the other national teams the Albanians play with, almost all of them have a hard time with them. The Albanian national team players play tightly, do not allow their opponents to run wild. I can say that it will not be easy to beat them. After all, the Albanian national team has qualified players, most of whom play in foreign clubs.
- What can you say about the readiness of the Ukrainian national team to start in the next League of Nations?
- It's clear that after playing in this year's European Championship, our team realized that we can't relax with any opponent. This primarily concerns the disastrous match with Romania, in which we lost with a big score of 0:3. I think that the players of the Ukrainian national team should be properly adjusted and win the first game of the Nations League. However, I repeat: it will not be easy for them, because the opponent is not an easy one.
- How do you see the scenario of today's match with Albania in Prague?
- It seems to me that Ukraine, as the group's favorite, will play as the first seed. However, this does not mean that we will play without looking to the rear. We need to be vigilant in defense, because at Euro 2024 the Albanians showed that you can expect any surprises from them - just remember Bayrami's goal in the 22nd second of the match against Italy! As for the attacking actions of our team, in the absence of Mudryk and Dovbyk, it may lack speed and sharpness. However, the Ukrainian national team now has enough high-level players to make the lack of the two mentioned performers significantly affect its actions. Yaremchuk is also a productive unit, and I hope he will have his say.
Viacheslav Kulchytskyi
