Famous Ukrainian coach Roman Grigorchuk evaluated the list of footballers called up to the Ukrainian national team for the preparation for the September qualifying matches of the 2026 World Cup — against France (September 5) and Azerbaijan (September 9).
Roman Grigorchuk— Sergey Rebrov called up only three players from the Ukrainian champions "Dynamo" for the matches with Azerbaijan and France. In your opinion, what is the reason for such a small number of players from the Kyiv club?
— It’s hard to say. The head coach and his staff are guided by the fact that they call up the most prepared players. Prepared in all aspects. This includes not only technique, tactics, physical condition, functional state, but also psychological state. All of this is taken into account.
I am sure that the coach calls up the most prepared footballers at the moment, that is, for the upcoming games. This is related to his decision.
— Andriy Yarmolenko was not included in the squad at all, although he has been playing steadily for "Dynamo" lately. What do you see as the reason for Andriy’s exclusion?
— Yarmolenko is a very serious figure. A very strong and qualified footballer. It’s hard for me to comment on why he is not there because, probably, one needs to know more than I do.
— Many fans were expecting the debut call-up of Ilya Krupsky, but he is once again not in the squad. Do you think Krupsky deserved a call-up to the national team?
— I will give you a pragmatic answer: I’m sure Rebrov called up the players who are best prepared to address the issues in the next two games. I’m sure that Krupsky and others will be called up later. Of course, they will have chances in the national team, but the national team is such a thing that for the next two games the players who are best prepared in all aspects must be there.
— You mention Krupsky and others. Perhaps you can name players who will soon get a chance to debut for the national team?
— I think there will definitely be new names in the national team because, in my opinion, this process has been going on for a long time. The coaching staff is approaching this direction quite correctly. As soon as players improve, they immediately get a chance in the national team.
After the first few games, I mentioned the name Ocheretko because I saw that this step would be taken. I was almost sure because Ocheretko looked very solid in those matches. Somehow everything suggested that Rebrov would call him up to the national team.
