The match between the national teams of Ukraine and Scotland in the League of Nations will take place on September 27 in Krakow (kick-off at 9:45 PM Kyiv time). The day before the game, the head coach of the blue-and-yellow team Oleksandr Petrakov spoke at a press conference.

— You have been working with Ukraine's national team for more than a year. Almost every match can be called a final for you. Does this situation put psychological pressure on you or, conversely, mobilizes you?

— I've already adapted, although it was very difficult at first. But this is the specificity of the national team — every game is important, responsibility increases many times before people, before everyone. The level of matches is extremely high. Here one match is worth ten league games. When I return home after matches, I feel a strong longing, but I recover in three to four days. A match for the national team is a very serious level and a huge responsibility.

— In previous September fixtures against Scotland and Armenia, you played with two different starting lineups. Will the decision on tomorrow's lineup be one of the most difficult in your career?

— No, it won't be like that. I don't want to offend the Armenian team, but there is a big difference in individual level between their players and those from Scotland. The Scottish footballers play in England's Premier League. So our boys did well, they did what we asked them to do. There will be changes as usual in football. But for me this isn't difficult.

— Do you think your team can play stronger tomorrow than it did a few days ago in Glasgow? How hard will it be for Scotland without three of their key players?

— I don't track who won't play for Scotland, I look at my own team. In June we beat this opponent — 3:1, but now we conceded in Glasgow — 0:3. So there's parity.

I want to add that I thank the Scottish Football Association, the head coach and the team for agreeing back in March to reschedule our games due to the war. They could have refused, but they didn't, so I'm very grateful to them.

— After the previous match against Scotland, you said that the absence of experienced players like Zinchenko affected the result. Then you secured a great win over Armenia. How much will it matter tomorrow not having such players as Zinchenko to show the kind of game we saw in the June playoff match?

— I don't want to offend anyone, but we're not a country like France or Spain that can field three-four equally strong lineups. We have two-three players... Zinchenko is a good person and an excellent player. We always miss those who aren't playing. Zabarnyi and Mykolenko didn't play for us. Vitaly wanted to come out and play, but I never make my career on healthy players. We saved him; he has recovered and already played.

It's very difficult for us when one of the main players isn't playing. As I said earlier, we don't have a fixed starting lineup like that, but I want it to be there. We miss Bущан, Zinchenko, Shaparenko...

— Will tomorrow's match with Scotland be your last in charge of the national team since your contract ends this year?

— There are no talks. Tomorrow is the game, after that you'll find out everything. This question should be addressed to the UAF president.

— Do you have any injured players?

— Everyone is healthy, we have 23 players in the team.

— How important is it for you to qualify for the top division of the League of Nations?

— We all, boys and coaching staff, want to move up to League A.

— The match with Scotland in the 2022 World Cup qualifier was seen as something incredibly important. But now there's no such hype among fans. How do you feel about people's emotions before tomorrow's game?

— On June 1, the status of the match was different — a semifinal in the World Cup qualifier playoffs. The League of Nations is something else, including in people's minds. But don't think we came to play on September 21 unprepared. There's war going on, players have come from various clubs with different practice and transfers... All this has had an impact.

It's no secret that there are sensors in all teams tracking the functional state of players. Before the game in Glasgow, we were in a very bad situation. But now everyone is levelled out, working well with self-sacrifice and spirit. We're ready for the game, and its status is important to us. We really want to rehabilitate tomorrow. And how it goes...

— How will playing on a neutral field affect tomorrow's match?

— We play in such realities, we conduct all games away from home. It would be great to get to the point where we can play at home.

— Were you surprised by how Scotland plays on set pieces?

— We analyze all games, how teams play on set pieces. This is a hallmark of all British teams — they play well with their heads. Set-piece situations are the main weapon of the Scottish national team. We know this, we analyze it, and will do everything possible to prevent them from scoring from set-pieces.