Taras Stepanenko: "It is not true that the players of the Ukrainian national team do not want to play"

On the eve of the Nations League match against Georgia, Ukraine's midfielder Taras Stepanenko spoke to the media at a pre-match press conference.

"The Georgian national team has very good players, their human qualities are at a high level. They have a strong and capable team, a well-coordinated group. Very high-quality players who play in great clubs. Georgia is the leader of our group at the moment, so we are preparing for the match very carefully and will try to achieve a positive result for us.

Am I ready to play tomorrow? When I first joined the Ukrainian national team, even the youth team, it was a great achievement for me. It should be the same for any footballer. When I had injuries before, I came to the national team with them and tried to help the team. And at the age of 35, my attitude towards the national team has not changed. Every fan, official and player should understand this. All the national team players who are here give their best to the team. Everyone feels responsible to their country and will give everything off the field to make our fans happy with the team. Therefore, it is not true that the players of the national team of Ukraine do not want to play, do not give their all. Everyone wants to help our country as much as possible," Stepanenko said.