After a stopover and a shorter journey than the trip from Kyiv to Bremen, muscles still need stretching and recovery, especially if their functionality directly affects players' readiness for training and games. After completing all necessary exercises, the players headed to a theoretical session, after which the teams had lunch according to the schedule.

Photo by Pavel Kubanov

Before the start, head coach Serhiy Rebrov congratulated the masseur Andrii Makha on his birthday in the name of the entire team. The best gift for such an occasion is a national team jersey with the player's surname and number that reflects the age of the "newborn."

Photo by Pavel Kubanov

At the start of the official training session at the "Toshe Proeski" stadium, it began to sprinkle. Situated in a mountainous area, high humidity and precipitation are signs of local climatic conditions. Although the temperature is within 19-20 degrees Celsius, it feels quite humid outside. This might be why the quality of the grass is not the best; it's rather sticky.

Photo by Pavel Kubanov

In the evening training session, all 25 players present at the camp participated after Valeri Bondar and Oleksandr Pykhalyonok left the team due to injuries. After warming up and a traditional ball work drill, the players completed tactical assignments set by Serhiy Rebrov and his coaching staff within specific game series. To conclude the training session, the boys worked on goal kicks.

Photo by Pavel Kubanov

Tomorrow's game is expected to draw over 20,000 spectators, with approximately 300 of them being Ukrainians. The arena in Skopje can hold up to 33,000 fans, so it won't be fully packed. Therefore, there’s no doubt that the blue and yellow flags will stand out on the stands, and support from all corners of Ukraine and the world will undoubtedly motivate the boys for maximum results.

Ukraine National Team Roster

Goalkeepers: Georgii Bushchan ("Dynamo" Kyiv), Anatolii Trubin ("Shakhtar" Donetsk), Andriy Lunin ("Real Madrid," Spain).

Defenders: Mykola Matviienko, Yurym Konoplyan (both — "Shakhtar" Donetsk), Oleksandr Tymchyk ("Dynamo" Kyiv), Oleksandr Svytok (SK "Dnipro-1" Dnipropetrovsk), Vitalii Mykolenko ("Everton" Liverpool, England), Illia Zabarnyi ("Bournemouth," England), Eduard Sobol ("Strasbourg," France), Serhiy Krivtsov ("Inter Miami," USA).

Midfielders: Taras Stepanenko, Oleksandr Zubkov, Georgii Sudakov (all — "Shakhtar" Donetsk), Serhiy Sydorchuk, Vitalii Buyalskyi (both — "Dynamo" Kyiv), Andriy Yarmolenko ("Al-Ain," UAE), Ruslan Malinovskiy ("Olympique Marseille," France), Viktor Tsygankov ("Girona," Spain), Mykhailo Mudryk ("Chelsea" London, England), Danylo Iegnatyenko ("Bordeaux," France), Vladyslav Kochergin ("Rakow" Czestochowa, Poland).

Forwards: Artem Dovbik (SK "Dnipro-1" Dnipropetrovsk), Vladyslav Vanat ("Dynamo" Kyiv), Nazarii Rusyn ("Zorya" Luhansk).

Oleksandr Hlyvinets, press secretary of the Ukraine national team