On Friday, September 5, the Ukrainian national team will play its opening match of the World Cup 2026 qualifying tournament against the England national team. The match is nominally a home game for the Ukrainian national team, but due to the war, it will take place in Wroclaw, Poland. The day before the game, a pre-match press conference for the head coach of the Ukrainian national team, Sergey Rebrov, was held at the Tarczyński Arena, which will host this meeting.
— Can you explain the absence of Roman Yaremchuk in the national team camp? Why was no one called up to replace him?
— How can you say no one was called up? We called Voloshin. Unfortunately, Yaremchuk sustained an injury in a match for his club. We received all the scans regarding his injury and allowed him to continue his treatment with the club.
— Is everyone else ready for the match?
— Unfortunately, not everyone. But this is not the first time we have many injuries. This always happens. Everyone who is currently in the national team camp is very focused, and I am confident we will give our all tomorrow.
— In the summer, you mentioned that if it weren’t for the friendly status of the matches, Yarmolenko would be in the national team. What has changed since then? Why did you not call him up now?
— Because there is great competition for that position. There are many players who are performing well. We have called up all the strongest players at the moment, but Andriy remains a potential player for the national team.
— What does it mean for you to play matches when your country is at war?
— Unfortunately, we have been in this state for more than three years now. It is a great honor for me to represent our country. We are always grateful to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, our defenders. Everything we do is for them.
This is indeed very difficult. Not in terms of travel or logistics: it’s hard for the players to realize what is happening in our country. Many in Ukraine have family and friends. It is all very challenging psychologically. But I see that this adds motivation to the players. When they step onto the field with the flag of Ukraine, they truly feel who they are playing for.
— How does the information about the SBU raids in the house of the youth national team assistant affect the team?
— It doesn’t. It doesn’t affect the team’s preparation at all. We are currently gathered for a match that is very important for us and the Ukrainian youth national team.
— How do you feel about playing in Wroclaw?
— We are here for the third time. We played here against England and Iceland. We always feel support wherever we play. But this is indeed a very good stadium. We are very grateful to Poland for constantly helping us in organizing matches. This is very important to us, and we feel the support. We are thankful to all the countries that assist us in these very difficult times for our country.
— Is there a belief within the team that the Ukrainian national team can qualify for the World Cup 2026 from this group?
— In my opinion, one should not think about what will happen in the future but rather prepare for each upcoming match. Right now, we have France. And we need to prepare very seriously for this meeting. After that, we will have a match with Azerbaijan.
So we need to take it step by step. And show maximum commitment in every game. Because we are currently playing against the strongest national teams, against the best players. This is very challenging, but I believe in the guys, I see their motivation and desire. I am confident that we will do everything possible.
— What is more important to you: the presence of a national team player in a top club or having playing time in a Ukrainian club?
— I do not categorize players in that way. Playing time is always very important. And Ukrainian club players currently have a lot of playing time. Even too much: we couldn’t even conduct two training sessions a day because some guys were very tired. They mostly focused on recovery. I am pleased that almost all the footballers currently in the national team camp have playing time. But when there’s too much of it, players can indeed get exhausted.
— How will you address the staffing issues on the left side of defense after Mykolenko’s injury? And what do you expect from the French national team? Maybe some surprises?
— The French national team is indeed a major surprise. Anyone you take from their squad is a big surprise. So we are really preparing very seriously.
Unfortunately, Mykolenko has not participated in a single training session with the national team: his injury occurred not here, but at Everton. We have called Dubinchak, he is already with us and joined training today. Tomorrow we will decide who will cover this position.
Alexander POPOV