Head coach of the Ukrainian national team Serhiy Rebrov held a scheduled pre-match press conference a day before the first playoff match of the Nations League against Belgium for the right to compete in Division «A» of this tournament next season.
Serhiy Rebrov. Photo — uaf.ua— What is the situation with Dovbik? There was information about a viral infection in him.
— First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to our warriors who are currently defending our independence, fighting against the aggressor. It is a great honor for us to play under the flag of Ukraine.
Regarding the personnel situation, yes, unfortunately, Artem Dovbik has approached us with a high temperature. It is an infection. Our doctors are doing everything possible and necessary, we will see tomorrow. Today Artem will not train with the general group.
And Maxim Talovyerov has arrived at the national team with an injury: he has already returned to his club. The rest of the guys are working, understanding how important these two matches are for our team.
— How difficult was it to prepare for an opponent who changed the head coach? How different should we expect Belgium to play compared to what they showed at Euro-2024?
— In general, the Belgium national team is very balanced, with a large selection of players. Despite the fact that there are footballers in their squad who are missing this meeting, there is still a very large selection of performers. It is hard to prepare because you do not know 100% who will play in which position.
I do not think that the game scheme of the Belgium national team with the new coach will change very much. We analyzed how he worked before. We always analyze our opponent, providing information to the players. But it is very important what we will show. If we want to play on equal terms with such an opponent, we need to work at maximum and show the football that we demand from the team.
— Recently, various bloggers claimed that there is allegedly an attack on you, that you are allegedly being pushed out of UAF. Do you know anything about this at all, and do you feel that there is any additional pressure, aside from the pressure for results in these matches?
— I generally believe that any game of the Ukrainian national team is now not only about the result but about the spirit of Ukrainians. And all the guys understand that regardless of the status of the match, we must go out, show our maximum, and play to win.
As for pressure, there has been absolutely no pressure from UAF. This is the first time I’m hearing this. Yes, someone told me that something was being written, but I have absolutely working relationships with Andriy Mykolayovych (Shevchenko, president of UAF, — ed.), with the entire Association, and there has been no problem for either me or him.
— How do you remember the previous meeting with Belgium at Euro-2024? The opponent has changed since then. Has anything changed in our national team?
— Why should something change? The players are almost the same, we are adding more footballers. I believe that these are completely different matches. At Euro, we needed a victory, we created enough moments and could have won. The Belgium national team was satisfied with a draw and was not as aggressive.
In the Nations League, the Belgium national team was a completely different team that played much more intensively than against us at Euro-2024. Therefore, as I said, we need to focus on our game, respect Belgium. We need to understand that we are only playing the first match out of two.
— After Mudryk's problems arose, and he cannot play for the Ukrainian national team, you have quite a serious problem in the left winger position. Do you have any original ideas on how to solve this problem?
— First of all, we all support Mykhailo and help him. I am sure he is an important player for our national team, a young footballer, and I wish him a speedy return to football. This is very important for him and for the national team.
Regarding tomorrow's game. We held a gathering, had a friendly match among ourselves, and tried several options in this position. Therefore, tomorrow you will see who will play in this position. Once again, I say that tomorrow we only have the first half and it is very important how we play the second half in the return match.
— It was announced today that the Ukrainian national team will participate in a friendly tournament in Canada in the summer. Your comment.
— Yes, we had several options for these matches, and I am very glad that we chose Canada because it is truly a partner of Ukraine not only in football but also in supporting our country. It will be very interesting for us to play in Canada. The next World Cup will be held in the USA and Canada, so we will gladly go. There is a very large Ukrainian diaspora in Canada, and I think it will be very pleasant for all of us to play these matches. Moreover, as far as I remember, our national team has never played against New Zealand. This will be an interesting experience and will be important for us and for the country.
— Can the call-up of only four central defenders (especially after Talovyerov's injury) be considered a hint that the Ukrainian national team will not play with three central defenders against Belgium, as it did at Euro-2024?
— First of all, we called up Oleksandr Svatok. We have enough central defenders. I believe we can play both with two and with three central defenders. When the team plays with three central defenders, sometimes the functions of these players may differ. They may nominally be central defenders, but their role is different. Even when you play with two central defenders, sometimes a holding midfielder becomes a central defender. So I believe we called up enough central defenders. We have a very tough situation with yellow cards — 8 players on yellow cards, so we need to be very careful tomorrow.
