EURO 2024. Latest from Ukraine's camp: Dovbyk's arrival, another birthday, two training sessions

31.05.2024 23:01

On Friday, May 31, the Ukrainian national team held two training sessions during their camp in Germany.

In the morning, the team trained on the same field as the previous day, the amateur club Eltersdorf’s pitch in Erlangen. Before the session began, the players formed a celebratory tunnel for today’s birthday boy, Georgiy Bushchan, and recent birthday celebrant, Vitaliy Mykolenko. Traditional friendly slaps from both sides as they ran through the lineup of teammates enlivened the atmosphere before the morning workout.

Photo by Dan Balashov

The session itself consisted of strength exercises combined with ball work. Players performed squats or raised their hips with dumbbells before taking shots on goal. Additionally, the team worked on dribbling and passing, focusing heavily on technique and tactics.

Photo by Dan Balashov

In the afternoon, La Liga's top scorer Artem Dovbyk joined the national team, arriving in Munich from Barcelona. The only player yet to join the camp is Andriy Lunin, whose Real Madrid will play in the Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund tomorrow.

Photo by Dan Balashov

Before the evening training session, head coach Serhiy Rebrov presented the 30-year-old birthday boy Georgiy Bushchan with a symbolic jersey bearing the number 30, and teammates gave the goalkeeper a round of applause. Following this, the newly arrived Artem Dovbyk also ran through the celebratory tunnel formed by his teammates, just as Vitaliy Mykolenko and Georgiy Bushchan did in the morning: traditions are traditions!

Photo by Dan Balashov

The evening session took place at the training base of the 2. Bundesliga club Greuther Fürth. This session started with the usual run stretching and muscle activation exercises. Since it began to rain in Bavaria in the afternoon, the coaching staff insisted that players warm up thoroughly before starting work on the field.

Photo by Dan Balashov

In the evening, the focus was on ball retention, passing, and finishing. The players also participated in a game series where they executed tactical tasks set by head coach Serhiy Rebrov.

Photo by Dan Balashov

After a busy day of two training sessions, many players continued working out in the gym. As the camp begins before the final tournament of Euro 2024, the team understands the importance of functional readiness and physical endurance.

Ukraine national team roster:

Goalkeepers: Georgiy Bushchan (Dynamo Kyiv), Anatoliy Trubin (Benfica, Portugal), Andriy Lunin (Real Madrid, Spain).

Defenders: Mykola Matviyenko, Yukhym Konoplya, Valeriy Bondar (all Shakhtar Donetsk), Oleksandr Tymchyk (Dynamo Kyiv), Vitaliy Mykolenko (Everton, England), Illia Zabarnyi (Bournemouth, England), Oleksandr Svatok (SK Dnipro-1), Maksym Talovierov (LASK, Austria), Bohdan Mykhaylichenko (Polissya Zhytomyr).

Midfielders: Andriy Yarmolenko, Mykola Shaparenko, Volodymyr Brazhko (all Dynamo Kyiv), Taras Stepanenko, Oleksandr Zubkov, Georgiy Sudakov (all Shakhtar Donetsk), Oleksandr Zinchenko (Arsenal, England), Viktor Tsygankov (Girona, Spain), Mykhailo Mudryk (Chelsea, England), Serhiy Sydorchuk (Westerlo, Belgium), Ruslan Malinovskyi (Genoa, Italy).

Forwards: Artem Dovbyk (Girona, Spain), Roman Yaremchuk (Valencia, Spain), Vladyslav Vanat (Dynamo Kyiv).

Reserve list: Dmytro Riznyk, Danylo Sikan (both Shakhtar Donetsk), Denys Popov, Vitaliy Buyalskyi, Vladyslav Kabaiev (all Dynamo Kyiv), Yehor Yarmolyuk (Brentford, England).

On June 3, the team will play a friendly match against the hosts of EURO 2024 in Nuremberg, Germany. Kick-off is at 21:45 Kyiv time.

The next day, the team will fly to Warsaw, Poland. In the capital of the neighboring country, Ukraine will play its next preparatory and friendly match against Poland on June 7. Kick-off is at 21:45 Kyiv time.

The final match before the pre-tournament camp will be against the Moldovan national team on June 11 in Chisinau, Moldova. Kick-off is at 19:00 Kyiv time.

On June 12, the national team will arrive at their permanent base for EURO 2024 in Wiesbaden.

Group E Match Schedule for EURO 2024

June 17: Romania vs Ukraine. Arena Munich, Munich. Kick-off: 16:00 Kyiv time.

June 17: Belgium vs Slovakia. Frankfurt Stadium, Frankfurt. Kick-off: 19:00 Kyiv time.

June 21: Slovakia vs Ukraine. Dusseldorf Arena, Dusseldorf. Kick-off: 16:00 Kyiv time.

June 22: Belgium vs Romania. Cologne Stadium, Cologne. Kick-off: 22:00 Kyiv time.

June 26: Slovakia vs Romania. Frankfurt Stadium, Frankfurt. Kick-off: 19:00 Kyiv time.

June 26: Ukraine vs Belgium. Stuttgart Arena, Stuttgart. Kick-off: 19:00 Kyiv time.

Kick-off times are in Kyiv time.

Oleksandr Hlyvynskyi, press secretary of the Ukrainian national team