Following the first of two friendly matches within the Canadian Shield tournament against Canada, which ended in a loss (2:4), head coach of Ukraine's national team Serhiy Rebrov held a press conference.

— Why did the team struggle so much?

— Because we expected individual mistakes in defense, many of them. We had very good opportunities in the first half but failed to score, while our opponents capitalized on all their chances. Unfortunately, three goals were scored against us in the first half. This was tough — losing 0:3 after 30 minutes.

But I believe that all these goals are individual mistakes in defense. And this is very important. We play at a high level. Any team, and I consider Canada to be of a high level as well, will take advantage of such mistakes.

— Does this game illustrate a lower intensity level in the Ukrainian Premier League? This also affects our clubs' performances in European competitions when they have to face physically fit and fast teams like today's opponent.

— Yes, I agree. Unfortunately, we have this level of the Ukrainian Premier League. But there were many players on the field today who play abroad. I don't consider their level to be lower. We need to actually be a team and focus on both defense and attack. I believe that in the first half, we lost due to poor mistakes in defense — individual and collective ones. We need to analyze.

Yes, unfortunately, there is war going on in our country now, and the league's level isn't as high as we would like it to be. But the players who come to the national team training camp are of a good enough level, and they need to show this.

— It seems that Ukraine played well tactically but made mistakes in some moments. Can these be corrected within the short time until the match against New Zealand?

— Yes, of course, we will make changes. We'll change many players. We brought 24 players, all of whom will play, but it will be a different game. We prepared seriously for Canada but lost. We are waiting for the second match.

Canada showed us our defensive problems, as Belgium did before them. Now we need to work on this. We have little time, but we must correct these issues.

— Perhaps you would agree that the European season might have affected some players, especially Zinchenko. He plays in England's league and other top tournaments. Do you think fatigue or something else could have impacted his performance?

— Yes, of course, fatigue is a factor. But listen, Canada is also in the same conditions. Many players play in Europe but are now seriously preparing for their World Cup at home.

I cannot say that we played very poorly today. However, we made critical mistakes in our penalty area, and this is crucial. If you make such mistakes in your own penalty area, it will cost you dearly. And we failed to capitalize on our opportunities, especially in the first half, although we had two great chances.

But again, these are friendly matches. No matter what you tell players, they feel that this is an unofficial game and aren't fully focused. That's my opinion. Before the match, we told the players how serious it was; many Ukrainians came to watch our match, and it was very important to give emotions to people in Ukraine.

— What do you think about the support from Ukraine? Yesterday, Canada's coach Marson highlighted that a large number of Ukrainian Canadians were expected at the stadium. Did the support meet your expectations? The noise after two goals scored near the end of the match was incredible.

— Yes, I am very pleased with the fans who came to support us and Canada. But I am saddened that we failed to show our level and lost. However, the atmosphere was excellent, it was fantastic. Everyone was happy, but we lost, and this is the main problem.

— How do you evaluate Andriy Lunin's physical condition, who will participate in the club World Cup with Real Madrid?

— He is absolutely fine. We have three good goalkeepers, Andriy will play in the second match. We agreed on this before playing against Canada. He is in good shape and ready for the next game and the club World Cup.

— What changes are expected in the next match?

— Everyone will get playing practice. Now we'll see who got injured.

As a reminder, on June 10th, Serhiy Rebrov's wards will play the second and final match of the Canadian Shield tournament — against New Zealand's national team. The referee's whistle for the game will sound at 23:50 Kyiv time.