Serhiy Rebrov: "It's crucial to think about victory. We prepare our players for any scenario"

25.06.2024 17:20

Ahead of the third match at EURO 2024 against Belgium, the head coach of the Ukraine national team, Serhiy Rebrov, held a press conference.

— Will Vitaliy Mykolenko take on the pitch? How will the midfield of the Ukrainian team look?

— Vitaliy has been training with the main group for three days now, and I'm pleased that we have competition for every position. All players work hard every day and are ready for tomorrow's match.

— What is the situation with Viktor Tsygankov?

— He is still recovering.

— What do you think about the Belgian national team?

— They are a very strong opponent. Before the start of our group, everyone understood that Belgium was the favorite. But in this tournament, anything is possible, as we saw in their match against Slovakia. Of course, they are a very strong team. We need to respect our opponents but also focus on our own game. We must maintain our concentration. We must win tomorrow.

— Wouldn't it be suicidal to play too boldly against this opponent?

— We need to find a balance; I always talk about this. We don’t have players who only defend or attack. Everyone needs to understand their role and help each other on the pitch. How we and our opponents start the match will be very important. Tomorrow, we need to come out with the same attitude we had when we finished the game against Slovakia. In the second half, we increased the intensity of our game and deservedly won.

Of course, we understand the circumstances under which we will advance. But it is very important to think about victory. I don’t know what the Belgians are thinking, or how they will play. We try to prepare our players for any scenario.

— What is the personnel situation in the Ukrainian national team?

— There are always some injuries because these matches are very exhausting. In the game against Slovakia, the whole team ran 10 kilometers more than against Romania. This is a very important factor. There are minor injuries, and some players might not train today. But I am confident that everyone will be ready tomorrow.

— How will you stop Kevin De Bruyne?

— We need to stop not just him. The Belgian national team has many skilled players who play in top clubs. Of course, it’s a headache for us. But first of all, we must focus on ourselves.

— What are the chances of Ruslan Malinovskyi appearing on the pitch?

— Of course, everyone has a chance to play. I am pleased that Ruslan is fighting and doing everything for the team, regardless of how many minutes he gets.

— Another goal against Slovakia would have helped us a lot. Did you understand this during the match?

— We now have three points, which was very important in the game against Slovakia. I don’t know why people say we made all substitutions for defense. We never said we should only defend. But the players mentally understood that it was very important to keep the result after a 0:3 loss. No one said it was essential to sit back in defense, but the opponent tried to equalize.

— With two draws in the last round in our group, the Ukrainian national team will not be able to advance to the playoffs, meaning that with four points, we will not be able to progress. At the same time, there are teams for whom three points will be enough. Is this fair?

— I don’t know if it’s fair or not. If we take fourth place with four points, then we deserve it. If you look at the Croatia vs. Italy match, both teams deserved to advance to the playoffs. But that’s the competition format, and we have to adapt. And that’s why we need to think not about four points but about how to beat Belgium.

— Do you not consider it dangerous for players to play too hard during training before such matches?

— If we don’t train at one hundred percent, that’s how we will play. There are more recovery-oriented training sessions, and there are others. If two players are competing for one position, they must prove they are better. How will they do that if they don’t fight?

— Will you be keeping track of the developments in the parallel game?

— Information is important, of course, I will know the score. But we have to think about ourselves, regardless of what happens in the other match. We must show our best game.

— Several of Romelu Lukaku's goals have been disallowed, and there has been some criticism of him. Do you agree that he is currently not at his best? Will he pose a significant threat?

— No, I don’t agree with that. He is a very vertical player, quite strong. He is always in position, both for his club and national team. I’m not surprised that he has many chances in every game. So we need to be very attentive to his movements.

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).

EURO 2024 Group E: Schedule and Results

June 17: Romania vs Ukraine - 3:0

June 17: Belgium vs Slovakia - 0:1

June 22: Slovakia vs Ukraine - 1:2

June 22: Belgium vs Romania - 2:0

Standings

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.