Serhiy Rebrov: "Romania knows their strengths"

16.06.2024 17:15

Ahead of the opening match at EURO 2024 against Romania, Ukraine's national team head coach Serhiy Rebrov held a press conference.

"Vitaliy Mykolenko's condition? His injury won't heal in just one or two days, so he won't play tomorrow for sure. We're monitoring his progress closely and hoping for a speedy recovery. We have 26 players in our squad, so we understand that injuries can happen.

I believe it's very important for Ukraine to be on this stage. All Ukrainians want to be a part of Europe, represented at the European Championship. Football is not the top priority in our country right now. For all players, the start of the tournament is enjoyable because we play for our soldiers, and our fans in these tough times. We are grateful to everyone in Europe for their support, and for sheltering our people, but I always remind that the war continues, and we still need assistance. We continue to fight for our freedom and Europe's freedom.

Recently, Romania has achieved success through teamwork, topping their qualification group. They are a very disciplined team with talented young players. Overall, there are no weak teams in EURO 2024. We've watched many of Romania's matches, focusing more on their qualifying games and the friendly against Bulgaria. They understand their strengths well. They have quick players and good discipline, which got them to Euro 2024.

We enjoy playing in Germany, where we've had friendly matches last year and this year. We are thankful to German fans for supporting Ukraine. The organization here is unprecedented. When we come to Germany, it always feels like playing at home.

It's crucial that we work together throughout the year. I see that the players understand much better now what we're trying to achieve from them. Our understanding of each other has improved significantly compared to the beginning. I can't say how we'll perform tomorrow. We must respect our opponents and focus on each match. I'm not sure why we're considered one of the favorites in the group. All teams are strong and deserve to be here. But we also need to focus on ourselves and our game.

Unfortunately, the war is still ongoing. But such circumstances in our country give more motivation to our footballers. We receive messages from soldiers, and friends who are fighting for Ukraine's independence right now. They are proud of us, and we are proud of them. When you're here to show the spirit of Ukraine, it's very important. This tournament truly reflects the spirit of our country," Serhiy Rebrov said.

Ukraine squad for EURO 2024

Goalkeepers: 1. Georgiy Bushchan (Dynamo Kyiv), 12. Anatoliy Trubin (Benfica, Portugal), 23. Andriy Lunin (Real Madrid, Spain).

Defenders: 22. Mykola Matviyenko, 2. Yukhym Konoplia, 21. Valeriy Bondar (all Shakhtar Donetsk), 24. Oleksandr Tymchyk (Dynamo Kyiv), 16. Vitaliy Mykolenko (Everton, England), 13. Illia Zabarnyi (Bournemouth, England), 3. Oleksandr Svatok (FC Dnipro-1 Dnipro), 4. Maksym Talovierov (LASK Linz, Austria), 26. Bohdan Mykhaylichenko (Polissya Zhytomyr).

Midfielders: 7. Andriy Yarmolenko, 19. Mykola Shaparenko, 18. Volodymyr Brazhko (all Dynamo Kyiv), 6. Taras Stepanenko, 20. Oleksandr Zubkov, 14. Georgiy Sudakov (all Shakhtar Donetsk), 17. Oleksandr Zinchenko (Arsenal, England), 15. Viktor Tsygankov (Girona, Spain), 10. Mykhailo Mudryk (Chelsea, England), 5. Serhiy Sydorchuk (Westerlo, Belgium), 8. Ruslan Malinovskyi (Genoa, Italy).

Forwards: 11. Artem Dovbyk (Girona, Spain), 9. Roman Yaremchuk (Valencia, Spain), 25. Vladyslav Vanat (Dynamo Kyiv).

The final game before the training camp will be against Moldova on June 11 in Chisinau. The match will kick off at 19:00 Kyiv time.

The next day, June 12, the team will arrive at their Euro 2024 base in 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.