Serhiy Rebrov comments on Ukraine team performances and meeting with Prime Minister of Hungary

04.07.2024 17:33

Vice President of the Ukrainian Association of Football and head coach of the national team, Serhiy Rebrov, shared insights about his participation in the discussions between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán.

"I was invited to the Office of the President of Ukraine when Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was there. My role was to help facilitate relations between Ukraine and Hungary. This is very important for us. As everyone probably knows, Viktor Orbán is a great football enthusiast. Many football schools have opened in Hungary at his initiative, and he is an avid supporter of the Hungarian national team and Ferencváros. When I worked in Hungary, we got acquainted. Today, I am doing everything in my power to help my country," said Serhiy Rebrov.

Rebrov also commented on the performances of Ukraine's national teams in the final tournaments this summer: "It is important to note that all our teams qualified for the Euros — this includes two youth teams and the national team. The Olympic team will participate in the men's football tournament at the Summer Games, and the U-21 team is leading its group after six rounds of EURO 2025 (U-21) qualifiers.

We will gather information and conduct a detailed analysis of our teams' performances after this intense period. We continue comprehensive work on developing national teams across all age categories, as this is our strategic goal.

Regarding the national team's results at the European Championship in Germany, I believe we did not show our full potential. Our team is one of the youngest in this tournament, with great prospects. Understandably, everyone expected different results now. We, the coaches and players, are also disappointed.

I think we made the right conclusions after the first group match. However, it is still difficult for me to explain what happened in the game against Romania. We reviewed that first match with the players, and in the second game against Slovakia, we showed different motivation. The same goes for the match against Belgium. There were some mistakes in those matches as well, but I believe the most important thing is that Ukraine is represented in all final tournaments. This is crucial now, as our country is at war.

We now need to analyze all mistakes and start preparing for the autumn matches in the Nations League. We must take the experience we've gained and begin the first full working cycle under our coaching staff's leadership successfully."