Artem Dovbik: "We need to be a hundred percent ready for Albania"

Forward of the Ukrainian national team Artem Dovbik summed up the match against the national team of Georgia (1:1) in the Nations League on the YouTube channel "VZBIRNA" and also shared his thoughts on the upcoming final match of the group stage of the tournament against Albania.

— Of course, it was a tough game because this is probably the best generation of the Georgian national team in recent years. Moreover, they played at home, and the support from the stands pushed them forward. Especially after the goal in our net. The atmosphere was, in principle, wonderful. The stadium is small, but it felt like there were about 50 thousand spectators at the game. They cheer very passionately for their team. Such a home atmosphere.

But I think the result reflected the game, because the Georgians had good moments at the end of the match, and we had two chances. I believe the game was, in principle, a draw.

— Remember Mudrik's goal-scoring moment after my pass.

— We saw, we felt during the game that we had space, and such quick players as Mudrik should take advantage of it. I tried to assist Misha, looking for space behind the opponents' backs. A few times it worked out, but unfortunately, we were able to score only in one case.

— Were you surprised by Zabarnyi’s breakthrough in the episode when there was an offside?

— No. During the game, I saw that he tried several times to push forward with the ball, and he did this very well. In the previous matches, he practiced this too. When he has space, he takes full advantage of it.

In that episode, we just lacked a bit of communication. Initially, I expected a pass to my feet, then I realized that I wouldn't be able to receive this pass and tried to open up differently. Unfortunately, it all ended in an offside.

— What are you expecting from the match against Albania in the final round?

— We need a victory exclusively to take second place and have the opportunity to move to Division "A". We will try to win, but we understand that every away match is difficult.

The most important thing is to recover so we are fully prepared for the game. Right now, all teams are trying to play football. There are no longer opponents you can beat on one leg. So against Albania, we will need to be a hundred percent ready.