Serhiy Rebrov: "Poland has individually strong players"

06.06.2024 19:08

On the eve of the friendly match against Poland, the head coach of Ukraine's national team, Serhiy Rebrov, held a press conference.

— What lineup can we expect tomorrow? Will there be changes?

— There will be changes. We have three games to evaluate all the candidates.

— How important is playing in Poland for you?

— I always express gratitude to the Poles, we play many games here. Poland helps Ukraine and our people a lot, and we are very grateful for that. Many Poles come to our matches and support us. We feel very comfortable playing here.

— How will you motivate your players?

— In the current situation in our country, the players do not need motivational speeches. Sometimes we show them messages from our soldiers. We all understand that football is not the top priority in Ukraine today. All the players representing our country understand for whom and for what they are playing. They don't need additional motivation. Every day they watch the news, seeing how Russia is destroying our cities and killing our children.

I always remind them that we represent a great nation, and we are fighting for our independence. On the pitch, our players show that Ukraine wants to be part of the European family. So qualifying for the Euro is a big step toward our country's entry into the EU.

— Does Oleksandr Usyk's recent victory add motivation for you?

— We all supported Oleksandr and saw how the fight went. It was a very important victory for all of us. He not only won but did so beautifully. This victory also inspired our players because they saw how the world views Ukraine. All our footballers see what they can truly do for Ukraine at the Euro.

— Is this Ukrainian national team the strongest in history?

— We have many young players, and this team has great potential. We'll see how we perform at the European Championship. This is a very promising team for the future, and we will build it, aiming to achieve results with both young and experienced players.

— Describe the strengths of the Polish national team. Who stands out among the players?

— Everyone in Europe will think of Robert Lewandowski because he is a remarkable player, a legend. The Polish national team deservedly qualified for the Euro, despite the difficulties in the qualifiers. This team has high-level players. For a coach, it's important to turn these players into a cohesive team, and I think he succeeded in the qualifying cycle. When I used to play against Poland, we probably lost all the matches. So, there are very strong individual players here, and it's very important to organize them well.

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).

Recall that Ukraine will play the next preparatory and friendly match against Poland on June 7. The game will start at 21:45 Kyiv time.

The final game before the pre-tournament training camp will be a match against the national team of Moldova on June 11 in Chisinau. The game will start at 19:00 Kyiv time.

The next day, June 12, the national team will arrive at the venue for the Euro 2024 base camp – the town of 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.