Due to the poor condition of the field at the Stadium named after Józef Piłsudski, where on September 27th the UEFA Nations League match between Ukraine and Scotland will take place, the team, as before, held its pre-match training at the club's base of "Krakowia." However, an inspection of the pitch at the same venue was still carried out, arriving there at 10:15. Players and coaches walked on the grass surface: even visually it is noticeable that it is uneven with patches, and players' legs will slide on it. Nevertheless, as known, the field is equal for both teams.

Photos by Pavel Kubanov

In turn, the Scots did not plan to train at the match venue, holding their pre-game session on their home pitch — within the territory of the national sports center "Oriam" in Edinburgh.

Photos by Pavel Kubanov

As for the Ukrainians, all 23 players present in the main team's lineup took part in today's evening training. After warming up and physical exercises, the boys carried out game series aimed at working on the tactical model of play for the decisive match.

Photos by Pavel Kubanov

An unusual feature of today's training was the presence there of world boxing champion in the heavyweight division Alexander Usyk, who is visiting Poland with his family. The famous boxer arrived at the team hotel together with two sons to support the national team. Oleksandr greeted the boys before the start of the evening theoretical session and then went to the Ukrainians' training session. There was noticeable mutual interest: football players expressed respect for Usyk's unique achievements in boxing, while he himself showed interest in the nuances of preparing the team for a decisive game. A vivid sign of the unity of Ukrainians before the decisive battle was the proposal from the national team members to return to the hotel together — in the team bus, which Oleksandr gladly agreed to.

Photos by Pavel Kubanov

It's hard to put into ordinary words what the boys worked on today with double motivation: each wants to prove their right to a place in the starting lineup for the match that determines the further tournament fate of Ukraine. Therefore, tonight it will be a difficult task for head coach Oleksandr Petrakov and his assistants — to determine the eleven who will start against Scotland tomorrow at 21:45 Kyiv time.

Ukraine National Team Roster

Goalkeepers: Dmytro Ryndzak ("Vorskla" Poltava), Andriy Lunin ("Real Madrid," Spain), Yevhen Volynets ("Kolos" Kovalivka).

Defenders: Oleksandr Karavayev, Oleksandr Tymchyk, Illia Zabarnyi (all — "Dynamo" Kyiv), Mykhailo Matviienko, Serhiy Krivoshyov, Valeriy Bondar, Bohdan Mikhailychenko (all — "Shakhtar" Donetsk), Vitalii Mykolenko ("Everton," England), Taras Kachariaba ("Slavia," Czech Republic).

Midfielders: Taras Stepanenko, Mykhailo Mudryk, Oleksandr Zubkov (all — "Shakhtar" Donetsk), Viktor Tsygankov ("Dynamo" Kyiv), Oleksandr Pichalok, Eduard Saraipiy (both — SK "Dnipro-1" Dnipropetrovsk), Andriy Yarmolenko ("Al-Ain," UAE), Ruslan Malinovskyi ("Atalanta," Italy), Danilo Igнатенко ("Bordeaux," France).

Forwards: Roman Yaremchuk ("Brugge," Belgium), Artem Dovbyk (SK "Dnipro-1" Dnipropetrovsk).

Reserves: Artem Besedin ("Dynamo" Kyiv), Oleksiy Hutsulak (SK "Dnipro-1" Dnipropetrovsk), Yegor Nazarina ("Zorya" Luhansk).

Alexander Glyvinetskyi, press secretary of the national team of Ukraine