Players of the Ukraine national e-football team in the FIFA discipline, Oleksandr CIG Grishay Gryshai and Andriy CIG ST92 Shakalov, commented on their team's start in the 2023 FIFAe Nations Cup Play-Ins round and their promotion to Division 1 based on the results of the first game week.

"We have been playing as a pair with Oleksandr Gryshay for more than a year. Sasha suggested that I be the captain of the team. Despite this, we give each other tips during the game."

We approached the start of Play-Ins seriously. In my opinion, the first matches make an enormous contribution to the tournament's outcome.

Belgium and Switzerland are strong opponents. But we didn't let the Belgians do anything in the first game and took three points. We lost tactically to Switzerland but approached the return match with maximum preparation.

Our goal is to qualify for the FIFAe Nations Cup 2023. It's important to play in Division 1 to have a chance at qualifying for the World Cup. And we have high expectations from this year's tournament,"— noted captain of the blue and yellow team, Andriy CIG ST92 Shakalov.

According to Oleksandr CIG Grishay Gryshai, the success of the team was largely due to preparation, as the boys trained together for a month and played in 2vs2 mode many matches.

"I didn't really worry during my debut with the national team. Andriy probably worried more than me. Although he has been in the national team for two years already. I tried to calm him down so that he was mentally ready.

Our best moments came from quick transitions from defense to attack. We scored many goals after interceptions and sharp counter-attacks.

Up until now, we played against the top e-football players—Sweden and Italy. And we beat them. Of course, those were friendly matches, while official tournaments are more challenging. But I believe that in 2vs2 mode, Ukraine's national team has a fairly high level,"— expressed his opinion the Ukrainian esports athlete.