The head coach of the Ukrainian beach football team, Mykola Kostenko, commented on our team's friendly matches and training camp in Oman.

From February 26 to March 3, upon invitation from the Omani Football Association, the Ukrainian national beach football team was in Muscat. During the training camp, Mykola Kostenko and Oleksandr Korniychuk's wards played three friendly matches.

The Ukrainians lost twice to Oman in regular time (5:6 and 2:4) and once to Saudi Arabia on penalties (3:3, penalty shootout - 5:6).

The head coach of the blue-and-yellow team, Mykola Kostenko, summed up the matches and overall training camp in Oman for the official website of the Ukrainian Football Association.

"On the day we arrived in Oman, we had an evening practice session. From the next day onwards, we worked on a single-session schedule. The sessions were more tactical in nature - we practiced standard situations, interaction in attack, and positional play. On the third day, we already had a match against Oman, and we also trained in the morning. In general, our training started around eight o'clock because it was extremely hot there during the day, up to 33 degrees Celsius. The adaptation process was quite challenging.

In the first game against Oman, we were leading - 4:2; everything seemed easy and we created many opportunities, but then conceded two unnecessary goals and the score equalized. We went ahead again, but then the referee's decision worked to our opponent's advantage when he awarded us a questionable foul and even showed one of our players a red card. However, there is no resentment - we were playing away from home, which is normal. Although in the end, we lost 5:6; we did not concede anything to them and had every right to win. But that's football.

The next day, we played against Oman again. We had many opportunities but failed to convert them into goals. Sometimes it happens like this. The home team benefited from the fact that they are currently in the middle of their national championship and therefore their players were in game condition, while we lacked some physical preparation and match feel. Moreover, we conceded a couple of bizarre goals. We lost 2:4; it's worth noting that although there were fewer opportunities for Oman, they made full use of them, whereas unfortunately, we did not.

Then came the game against Saudi Arabia, a team slightly weaker than Oman. But again, our failure to convert many chances played into their hands. Losing 0:2, we managed to score three goals in the third period and missed several more opportunities, while they equalized the score. The match went to penalties, and such a penalty shootout has never happened before on my memory. Nine outfield players, including two goalkeepers, took shots except for Andriy Borsuk who had a minor injury; there were 11 attempts! We failed to convert six of them. The goalkeepers in Saudi Arabia did well, working off the ball. Our boys started executing penalties with technique rather than power. All powerful shots went through, but none of the accurate ones succeeded. But at least we got some practice...

We tried to involve all players who arrived for this camp regardless of their performance in games. In each match, for example, two out of three goalkeepers and every outfield player had equal playing time. We also brought along several players who were not called up last season and gave them a chance. One of the tasks was to let the boys feel the rhythm of the game and have an opportunity to showcase themselves rather than focus on winning at all costs. Overall, this camp provided our coaching staff with great material for further work. It allowed us to understand which players we can rely on and who still needs individual improvement.

Photo by the press service of APFU

In general, the coaching staff is satisfied with the trip to Oman. First, the team got together; we had an opportunity to conduct theoretical sessions before each training session. We discussed match moments, attack and defense play. Second, the training process itself was excellent. The boys adapted well, their feel for sand and ball returned, which will be beneficial in future work. Third, I want to highlight the camp conditions - they were impeccable. Good food, support during our trainings; we were treated very well.

It's worth noting that in Oman, we had good support from fans. There were many of them there - teachers working at local universities and employees of various Omani companies. They even organized a small cultural program for us. A big thank you to them!

Photo by the press service of APFU

Regarding the future plans of the Ukrainian national beach football team in preparation for the season, they are already quite clear.

"This week we will receive the final dates for the World Cup qualifying tournament. As soon as we know them, we will start planning the dates for our next training camps. Plus, Poland's national team has approached us with a proposal that we support - to play two friendly matches at the end of March in their indoor stadium near Krakow. Regarding immediate plans, after a short break on Wednesday, we will resume training in Kyiv. This week in a single-session format and next week we'll switch to three sessions."