After long travels, muscles lose elasticity, so to relieve this muscle tension, the fitness trainer always has a great set of exercises that reduce stress and make the player's body more relaxed and ready for further exertion. After this, the footballers had a theoretical session, followed by lunch.

Photo by Pavel Kubanov

Today in Trnava, it was quite warm—the temperature rose to 27 degrees Celsius. When the national team players stepped onto Anton Malatinsky Stadium, the sun was just beginning to set. From then on, training took place under more comfortable weather conditions. By the way, the field at this arena is in good condition, unlike the pitch in Skopje.

Photo by Pavel Kubanov

The stadium in Trnava is named after a successful Slovak player and coach who managed to play for both the national team of First Slovak Republic (1939–1945) and the Czechoslovakia national team. He also won the Mitropa Cup with Trnavský Spartak in 1967, which still held its European cup status at that time. Today, the stadium in Trnava is the second largest in the country, and until recently, Slovakia's national team played their matches exclusively here. However, after the completion of renovations to the arena in Bratislava, Slovak teams split their games between two cities, although in March, two qualification matches were held in Trnava.

Photo by Pavel Kubanov

The pre-match training began with a warm-up and continued with the traditional ball-passing drills. However, it's worth noting that each time, the coaching staff offers players different game exercises for passing. The main part of the training was practicing the tactical setup that Serhiy Rebrov has chosen for tomorrow’s match. As usual, the session lasted one hour. At the end of the training, there were goal attempts. Before leaving Anton Malatinsky Stadium, the national team players took a photo on the field with the flag of 127th Separate Territorial Defense Brigade. Tomorrow, our soldiers who are undergoing rehabilitation after injuries will be in the stands, as well as family members of fallen football mourners. Footballers always emphasize that they play for their country and its people with gratitude and respect towards our defenders. With such thoughts and feelings, they will take to the field tomorrow.

National team squad

Goalkeepers: Georgiy Bushchan («Dynamo» Kyiv), Anatoliy Trubin («Shakhtar» Donetsk), Andriy Lunin («Real Madrid», Spain).

Defenders: Mykola Matviyenko, Yurym Konoplyanka (both — «Shakhtar» Donetsk), Oleksandr Tymchyk («Dynamo» Kyiv), Oleksandr Svatok (SK «Dnipro-1» Dnipropetrovsk), Vitaliy Mykolenko («Everton» Liverpool, England), Illia Zabarny («Bournemouth», England), Eduard Sobolev («Strasbourg», France), Serhiy Krivtsov («Inter Miami», USA).

Midfielders: Taras Stepanenko, Oleksandr Zubkov, Georgiy Sudakov (all — «Shakhtar» Donetsk), Serhiy Sydorchuk, Vitaliy Buyalskiy (both — «Dynamo» Kyiv), Andriy Yarmolenko («Al-Ain», UAE), Ruslan Malinovskiy («Olympique Marseille», France), Viktor Tsygankov («Girona», Spain), Mykhaylo Mudryk («Chelsea» London, England), Danylo Ignatenko («Bordeaux», France), Vladyslav Kochergin («Rakow» Czestochowa, Poland).

Forwards: Artem Dovbyk (SK «Dnipro-1» Dnipropetrovsk), Vladyslav Vanat («Dynamo» Kyiv), Nazariy Rusyn («Zorya» Luhansk).

Oleksandr Hlyvinets, press secretary of the national team