Andriy Yarmolenko: "Motivation is never an issue when wearing the national team jersey"
Captain of the Ukrainian national team, Andriy Yarmolenko, together with head coach Serhiy Rebrov, participated in a press conference ahead of the friendly match against Poland.
— The national teams of Ukraine and Poland met at Euro 2016. What has changed since then?
— The Polish national team has always been a good team, with many excellent players playing in the strongest leagues in Europe. As for our team, a lot has changed. I think we now have the strongest national team ever, as many young players have moved to the top leagues.
— What will be your mission at the European Championship?
— The whole world will be watching this tournament. For us, it's an opportunity to remind the world that every day in our country, children and women are killed, and soldiers die. This is also a motivation for us. The European Championship is very important for both players and Ukrainians. We will try to show our best.
— How do you evaluate the result of the friendly match against Germany?
— We can view the match against Germany positively, as we played away against a strong opponent. A 0:0 result, I think, is a positive outcome.
— Does Oleksandr Usyk's recent victory add to your motivation?
— I congratulate him; for us, he is the best, a champion. All the guys in the national team were rooting for him. As for our motivation, it's not an issue when wearing the national team jersey. Each of us has friends and relatives at war right now. When you go to the national team, these people ask for one thing—to win and bring some positive emotions to all the people in the country. So there should be no problems with motivation.
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.