In the aftermath of the playoff match in the 2024/2025 Nations League against Belgium, which ended in a loss (0:3) and overall disappointment, head coach of Ukraine's national team Serhiy Rebrov held a press conference.

— Did you make a mistake with the starting lineup given the final result?

— I do not consider this to be an incorrect decision. You see the game we played, and I see the condition of the players. Many players were very tired. Unfortunately, Viktor Tsygankov could not start and could not play 90 minutes. Therefore, we made these changes. In the first half, we played quite well. Yes, we were in a low block and did not go forward much, but Belgium did not create anything either. So I do not consider this to be an incorrect decision. Today's Belgian team was completely different — pressing us, adding speed. I believe that Jeremy Doku, who came on the field, made a lot for his team in attack.

— Why did you not anticipate that Belgium would play differently from the first match? Why could we not create opportunities in such a game?

— Because we were under pressure. There was no instruction that we should not go forward and attack. On the contrary, we said that we should use the experience of the second half in Murcia when we conducted good attacks and scored three goals. But today's Belgian team did not give us any chances for such quick attacks. I told the players in the dressing room that we cannot defend for 90 minutes. Therefore, it was important to go forward. But we were under pressure and did not have this opportunity.

— What is Vitaliy Mykolenko's condition?

— Unfortunately, he has an injury, he will undergo an MRI scan, we'll see. I know Vitaliy. If he did not continue playing, the injury was indeed serious.

— In Ukrainian media, there were discussions about whether it is necessary to play in League A. Perhaps staying in the second division would be better?

— Any game of Ukraine's national team now — for our fans, for the fighters. The players did not think about divisions and tried to act at their maximum. Indeed, for me this is more a friendly tournament, but losing like this... I agree that everyone is disappointed right now. We'll see further ahead. In these matches, we counted on preparing for the qualification cycle, which will be very difficult for us. Our goal — to qualify for the World Cup. Yes, everyone is disappointed, but we need to work and prepare for the qualifiers.