In today's semifinal in Amsterdam (kickoff at 18:00 local time), the blue-and-yellow team will face off against Russia, which currently holds the top spot in the UEFA ranking. 

Ahead of the match, captain of Ukraine's national team Petro Shoturma shared his thoughts, as reported by the press service of the Ukrainian Futsal Association.

— Did you expect to get this far in the tournament?

— Of course. We took it one step at a time. We knew that futsal is now on another level. Our main goal was to qualify from the group stage. After the first match, we focused on improving certain aspects of our game. Now every team participating in this tournament is ready to fight for qualification. Fortune smiled upon us, and we managed to advance to the quarterfinals where we faced Kazakhstan. We gave it our all and achieved the desired result.

— Ukraine and Russia haven't met on a futsal court in direct competition for a long time. Are you surprised that this is happening now?

— After the match against Kazakhstan, we were ready to face any opponent. There's no point in dwelling on the past. If we talk about rankings, Russia is at the top, while we are among the top ten teams. We will give our all to continue making history and reach the final. We aim to bring our hard work to fruition.

— Before the tournament started, Ukrainian athletes recorded motivational videos in support of Ukraine's national team. The Olympics are about to begin soon. How do you view this mutual support among representatives of different sports?

— Athletes who made these videos before the start of the championship have achieved great results. We had a lot to learn from them. Now, children are recording various videos for us as well. This is also very inspiring. After our victory over Kazakhstan, the popularity of our sport has increased. Everyone tries to support us in any way possible. They come up with different challenges and cheer us on.

— In your last direct match against Kazakhstan before Euro 2018, you missed a penalty kick against Igity. Were you afraid of approaching the ball this time?

— That was quite some time ago. Everyone knows that Igity plays well with his feet, but he also does pretty well on the line. This time I had no doubts at all. I knew where to shoot and managed to convert the penalty kick. To be honest, there were no nerves involved. I felt confident in my abilities.

— Ukraine was able to advance from a difficult group, put up a worthy fight against reigning European and world champions, and overcome one of the tournament favorites — Kazakhstan's national team. Do you consider yourselves among the favorites?

— You can see for yourself that bookmakers cannot predict the final results of Euro matches. After playing against Serbia, we understood that we could achieve results thanks to our character and fighting qualities. After beating Kazakhstan, the team is on a moral high. I wouldn't call our national team a favorite. We will play the semifinal match, and then we'll see what happens.

— What's the secret to such a successful run for Ukraine's national team at this Euro?

— For me, this is the most challenging European Championship. It was very difficult for us to qualify from the group stage. Our team demonstrated decent futsal in the match against Portugal — we just lacked the result. The format of the European Championship has become more interesting. Our team is very cohesive and united by a common goal and spirit. Thanks to this, we managed to reach the semifinals. We will give our all to make it to the final. Until now, our dream was to beat Kazakhstan; now we want to be finalists in the tournament. We are moving towards our goal.