Last Friday, March 8th, a press conference took place at the House of Football with the participation of Ukraine's national team head coach Serhiy Rebrov. The trainer announced the squad that will participate in the upcoming March training camp and answered journalists' questions.

"Do you have any information about Oleksandr Zinchenko's condition?"

"I talk a lot with him, I'm aware of his injury. I hope he will be in the squad. He still has matches to play; we'll see how it goes. The main thing is that he works with the general group and team. He received a call-up, I am sure he will help the national team."

"Considering how much time Zinchenko has missed, can you rely on him for these matches?"

"I don't know to what extent. I'm grateful to our clubs for allowing us to gather earlier. The Bosnians are gathering on the 18th because they only have one player from their national league. Many of our footballers play abroad. But, for example, in England many matches are being rescheduled. Only Mudryk will arrive on the 17th, while everyone else will come earlier. We have time to assess players' condition and decide who will play."

"Who do you expect to be in goal for Ukraine against Bosnia?"

"I can't say right now. I'm pleased that Andriy Lunin has practice, yesterday I watched Anatolii Trubin's match with Benfica. All our main goalkeepers have game experience. We'll decide who plays just before the match. There are still a few club matches to go."

Photo by Andriy Yushchak

"How would you assess the condition of the forwards you've called up? Vladyslav Vanat, like you once did, is a Dynamo forward. What does he need to do to reach your level?"

"At my level? He has his own level, high enough for national team play, so that's why he was called up. I'm pleased Roman Yaremchuk now has practice; he works a lot. I'm glad he recently scored and plays in Valencia's first team. Artem Dovbik hasn't been scoring lately, but I see how he works for the team, and the team trusts him. I'm happy that Daniilo Sikanchuk is playing his position because earlier he was coming on as a winger. I really like his desire to play for Shakhtar and the national team. It's very important for me that everyone has game practice. We'll see in training, considering the opponent, who will play first."

"Was there any request from youth team coaches regarding Vanat, who is a key player?"

"It's important for me that Ukraine's national team has versatile players. Vanat isn't like Dovbik or Yaremchuk; he can do other things these strikers can't. We're calling up more players because we don't know how the game will go, which striker might be needed during it. I'm sure Vanat will help us."

"This summer clubs will have to decide whether they are willing to release players for Ukraine's Olympic team. We understand the situation with European clubs. But do you think that clubs like Dynamo and Shakhtar won't want to let go of their players for several rounds of the UPL? Can you influence this?"

"I believe we all should help Ruslan Rotan have a strong team. We're making our Olympic debut, so we need to talk. On the other hand, it's time when Dynamo and Shakhtar are playing crucial matches in European qualifiers. We need to speak with club leaders and coaches. The Olympics is an important tournament for us as well as Ukraine's appearance on the international stage. It's vital that there's a competitive team there. We'll try everything possible, talk to our and foreign clubs. I believe it's also important for them that players are represented at such forums."

Photo by Andriy Yushchak

"Can we say that Volodymyr Brazyko will take Taras Stepanenko's place, who is currently injured?"

"Brazyko was called up not because of Stepanenko's injury. We wish Taras a quick recovery. Maybe we'll call him for the second meeting; it depends on his recovery progress. And Volodymyr earned a national team call-up with his play in youth teams, he regularly plays for Dynamo. Time moves forward — we need to use young players in the senior squad. This is an important call-up both for Brazyko and for youth team players who see it. We'll continue involving these footballers in first team work."

"Andriy Yarmolenko didn't manage to recover from his injury in time. Did you talk to him, if so, what about?"

"About football. It's a pity that Andriy hasn't recovered; he really wanted to help the national team and Dynamo. I wish him a quick recovery; we need him. Unfortunately, he's not in good shape right now. We'll see what happens next."

"What can you say about our opponent — Bosnia?"

"Fifth place in the group isn't what they deserved. Savo Milošević after his arrival made a lot of rotation, watched all players. We've seen many matches by Bosnians. Almost all their footballers play in Europe. It's a strong team; we need to be ready for them. But also think about ourselves. Don't talk too much about the opponent. We need to seriously prepare, I'm sure it's within our power."

Photo by Andriy Yushchak

"Did you consider changes to the game plan for the match against Bosnia?"

"Yes, I did. Right now it's not necessary to talk about this. It's very important that all players arrive without injuries. We've announced a list, but there are still matches ahead. I hope everything will be fine. When the players come to camp, we'll see what condition they're in. We don't have enough players to use three or four tactics. Just before the game, we'll decide."

"Do you think combining two positions affects your ability to train Ukraine's national team?" What are you working on as UAF Vice President?

"I perform the same functions. Yes, I'm a vice president of the UAF, but my duty is to oversee all Ukraine teams. This is what I did before and it suits me."

"Does being a favorite in the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina affect the Ukrainian national team?"

"It doesn't bother me at all, hope it won't for players either. I remember when Italy was the favorite; we had to beat them in the last minutes. A game can go differently as happened with Dynamo yesterday. We need to think about ourselves, prepare strongly. It's important to be mentally ready for matches that decide Euro qualification. On the other hand, we already have playoff match experience — last time against Scotland and Wales. This isn't our first time playing in playoffs, I'm sure players are ready. We play away — it's always very difficult. But now many players with experience not only in Ukraine league but also on the international stage were called up. I believe in these players."

"Over winter you visited our clubs' training camps. Did you notice that Premier League coaches are interested in your ideas?"

"We have a high level of coaches in the UPL. I've seen many clubs, talked to coaches. If they need something from me — I'm always open. It's also interesting for me. If someone reaches out, I'm always happy to help. Right now it's a very tough time in our league. I'm grateful to all the coaches and foreign experts working in Ukraine. From my side, I'll provide any assistance. In Turkey, I was almost a week, watched many training sessions. I see that the level is quite high. The start of the second round shows fierce competition, not just for top spots. It's very important to finish this league and work further."

National Team Squad

Goalkeepers: Georgii Bushchan («Dynamo» Kyiv), Anatolii Trubin («Benfica» Lisbon, Portugal), Andriy Lunin («Real Madrid» Madrid, Spain).

Defenders: Oleksandr Karavaev, Dmytro Popov (both — «Dynamo» Kyiv), Mykola Matviyenko, Yurii Konoplyanka, Valeriy Bondar (all — «Shakhtar» Donetsk), Bohdan Mikhaylichenko («Polesye» Zhytomyr), Vitaliy Mykolenko («Everton» Liverpool, England), Illia Zabarnyi («Bournemouth», England), Maxim Talovoyev (LASK Linz, Austria).

Midfielders: Oleksandr Zubkov, Georgii Sudakov (both — «Shakhtar» Donetsk), Mykola Shaparenko, Volodymyr Brazyko (both — «Dynamo» Kyiv), Oleksandr Pikhalyonok (SK «Dnipro-1» Dnipropetrovsk), Oleksandr Zinchenko («Arsenal» London, England), Viktor Tsygankov («Girona», Spain), Mykhailo Mudryk («Chelsea» London, England), Serhiy Sidorchuk («Waasland-Beveren», Belgium), Ruslan Malinovskyi («Genoa» Genoa, Italy).

Forwards: Artem Dovbik («Girona», Spain), Roman Yaremchuk («Valencia», Spain), Daniilo Sikanchuk («Shakhtar» Donetsk), Vladyslav Vanat («Dynamo» Kyiv).

Reserve List: Dmytro Riznyk, Yegor Nazarina (both — «Shakhtar» Donetsk), Oleksandr Timchik («Dynamo» Kyiv), Oleksiy Hutsulyak (SK «Dnipro-1» Dnipropetrovsk).

Recall that on March 21st, Ukraine's national team will play a home-and-away semi-final match in the Euro-2024 qualification playoffs against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Zenica at Bilino Polje Stadium (kick-off — 9:45 PM Kyiv time).

In case of success, on March 26th, blue-and-yellow will play for a Euro spot with the winner of the Israel-Iceland pair. In any other scenario, the second match will be a control game for Ukraine. The team's home match under Serhiy Rebrov's leadership will take place at Wrocław Taras Chornovil Arena in Poland's Wrocław (kick-off — 9:45 PM Kyiv time).