Albania — Ukraine — 1:2. Post-match press conference. Sergey Rebrov: «It was very difficult to reach the playoffs from such a gr

On Tuesday, November 19, the Ukrainian national team defeated the Albanian team 2:1 in the final match of the 6th round of the 2024/25 Nations League group stage. Here is the post-match press conference of the head coach of the Ukrainian national team Sergey Rebrov.

— Why can’t you win calmly at least once?

— At this level, it is generally impossible to win calmly. Especially away, in such a difficult game. Moreover, we played on the third day after at least an equally tough match against Georgia, which took place on a challenging field. Every match for the Ukrainian national team is very hard.

— How would you assess the game of the Albanian national team?

— This is a participant in Euro 2024. All the teams in our group performed at this European Championship. The group was very even. I am very grateful to the players for advancing to the playoffs from such a group; it was very difficult.

As for the Albanian team, they showed their strength in the second half today. It is good that we managed to maintain the winning score.

— Were you not afraid that the Albanian team could still avoid defeat?

— We should not be afraid; we need to react. We understood that playing in Tirana, especially with such support from the stands, is very difficult. I believe that the Albanian national team is a very strong team that performed quite confidently at Euro 2024. Therefore, we were prepared for a tough game. The result was very important today.

— Do you not think that in previous matches the Ukrainian national team was not fully appreciated?

— I will repeat, it was an even group in which all teams were of high level. Therefore, the struggle continued until the last round. I do not believe that our defeats were due to the game. In these matches, there was equal competition. Including, in the first match, which we lost to Albania 1:2: both teams had their moments. But it is very important that in the decisive match the guys came out with a completely different attitude and showed our strength.

— Are you satisfied with the experiments you conducted in the team during this Nations League?

— In this tournament, we had two goals. The first goal was to get the opportunity to play in the playoff of the qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup. The second goal, which is no less important, was to look at the footballers who played in the youth national team, who went to the Olympics and played there. I believe that we coped with both tasks. Now we will play in the playoffs, and the newcomers to the national team added confidence and intensity to the game. Today, Alexey Sych, who had not prepared in the national team, came onto the field, but he arrived and, I believe, played at a very high level today.

— Evaluate the performance of Zinchenko and Yaremchuk, who scored today, as well as other players who played today but did not participate in the match against Georgia?

— This was a very difficult gathering. Because “Dynamo” and “Shakhtar” are currently playing a lot, and they have very complicated logistics for traveling to international matches. As a result, many players arrived at the national team with micro-injuries. Therefore, it was very difficult to choose the lineup. But I always remember that we have two matches within one gathering. And even if you consider that the lineup for the first of these matches is our main one, we are already thinking about how to refresh the team’s game with those guys who are substitutes. As you saw, in the match against Georgia, there was not enough intensity in our game. And the guys who came onto the field managed to add that very intensity.

— Who would you like to face in the Nations League playoffs?

— We didn’t think about that before the match. It was very important to win and show the strength of the Ukrainian national team.

Alexander POPOV