Ruslan Rotan: "Experience in Marseille tournament against teams from other continents will be crucial for us"
Today, Ukraine's Olympic team will begin their participation in the international Tournoi Maurice Revello in France with a match against Indonesia.
Head coach of the blue-yellows, Ruslan Rotan, commented on the upcoming start of the prestigious competition:
"First and foremost, this tournament is very important for our country. Ukraine is at war right now, and everyone understands that winning matches in such competitions enhances our nation's image. So, we must fight for our country and our soldiers, as it's much harder for them. The world needs to hear about Ukraine, and we must stand our ground, so to speak, on this front.
From a football perspective, this tournament is of paramount importance because we have yet to determine which players will make the Olympic team, who will be released, and who won’t. The outcomes of the matches in France will provide the clarity we need. Only after this tournament will we be able to finalize and announce the roster for the Olympics. While there may still be debates, our aspiration is for the Olympic team to be represented by our strongest possible lineup.
Additionally, the experience of playing against teams from other continents in the Marseille tournament will be crucial for us, as we will face them at the Olympic Games. We will encounter Asian, African, and South American football.
Right now, we want to focus more on our own game and work on our ideas. We have provided information about our next opponent to the players. As far as I know, Indonesia's team is a newly formed young squad that has played only a few matches together. Their main Olympic team did not qualify for the tournament, losing in the playoffs. So, we will primarily focus on our game, our understanding, and our structure.
We had a conversation with Serhiy Rebrov, as Sikan and Yarmolyuk are on our list. They are also on the reserve list for the national team and may be called up there. Currently, we have 26 players in our camp who will have to play matches every three days. We have taken this into account and do not plan to put heavy loads in training. Each player has had a tough season, with some physical and mental fatigue. But I want to emphasize that we are preparing for the Olympic Games. There will be some time to rest a bit after the tournament in France," said Ruslan Rotan.
Ukrainian Olympic team roster:
Goalkeepers: Ruslan Neshcheret (Dynamo Kyiv), Kiril Fesyun (Kolos Kovalivka), Heorhiy Yermakov (Oleksandriya).
Defenders: Taras Mykhavko (Dynamo Kyiv), Arseniy Batahov (Zorya Luhansk), Oleksandr Martynyuk, Danil Skorko (both Oleksandriya), Oleksandr Drambaiev (Osijek, Croatia), Yevhen Pavlyuk, Ihor Krupskyi (both Vorskla Poltava), Volodymyr Salyuk (Chornomorets Odesa).
Midfielders: Yegor Yarmolyuk (Brentford, England), Maksym Kucheryavyi (St. Johnstone, Scotland), Maksym Khlan (Lechia Gdansk, Poland), Valentin Rubchynskyi, Oleg Ocheretko (both Dnipro-1 Dnipro), Nazar Voloshyn (Dynamo Kyiv), Mykola Mykhaylenko, Kyrylo Siheiev, Denys Shostak (all Oleksandriya), Oleg Fedor (Rukh Lviv), Maksym Bragaru (Chornomorets Odesa), Hennadiy Synchuk (Metalist Kharkiv), Vladyslav Veleten (Kolos Kovalivka).
Forwards: Ihor Krasnopir (Obolon Kyiv), Danylo Sikan (Shakhtar Donetsk).
It should be recalled that 10 national teams will participate in the tournament, divided into two groups. During the initial stage, Ruslan Rotan's team will face Indonesia (replacing Egypt), Italy, Panama, and Japan.
International U-23 Tournament Tournoi Maurice Revello
Group Stage
Group A: Ivory Coast, Mexico, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, France.
Group B: Indonesia, Italy, Panama, Ukraine, Japan.
June 4, 2024
Italy vs. Japan (16:00)
Indonesia vs. Ukraine (19:00)
June 6, 2024
Ukraine vs. Italy (16:00)
Indonesia vs. Panama (19:00)
June 8, 2024
Japan vs. Indonesia (15:00)
Ukraine vs. Panama (18:30)
June 10, 2024
Ukraine vs. Japan (15:30)
Italy vs. Panama (19:15)
June 12, 2024
Japan vs. Panama (15:30)
Italy vs. Indonesia (19:15)
Playoffs
June 14, 2024
Match for 9th place (15:00)
Match for 7th place (19:00)
Match for 5th place (18:00)
June 16, 2024
Match for 3rd place (15:30)
Final (19:15)
All match times are in Kyiv time.
Ruslan Rotan: "Result is disappointing, but Japan match will benefit us"
Ukraine's Olympic team head coach, Ruslan Rota...