Interim head coach of the Ukrainian national team Oleksandr Petrakov held a press conference after the match against Kazakhstan (2:2).

— Do you still believe in Ukraine's chances to qualify for the World Cup?

— I still do. This is sports, football, we need to play until the end. The whole team is sad, I am sad. But we will keep playing until the end.

— Do you feel that both games against Kazakhstan were similar?

— Basically yes. I said that Kazakhstan is a disciplined, good team. I warned my footballers not to waste goal-scoring opportunities. Probably didn't get through. Don't know what it's connected with. Such mistakes happened, professional players can't score... In the end we got such goals. One, two... We will analyze this. Calmly talk to the boys. The team is very sad. I need to pull the players out of their psychological rut and talk to them.

— Didn't a quick goal affect the team's mood? Did they believe the game was over?

— We still had moments. Needed to score more, add on. I talked about this, but wasn't heard. Maybe the goal affected it slightly. Should have scored, not wasted so many goal-scoring opportunities. At the national team level, they don't forgive such things.

— The two goals from Kazakhstan's national team were similar.

— You're right. We'll look at it, make conclusions. Talk to the player who made these mistakes. Experienced footballer, he is very sad himself.

— Did a short preparation cycle affect the result?

— I won't justify myself by saying that I didn't have time. I took on the role of acting head coach of the national team. I knew what I was getting into. Need to take responsibility for the results. The team wins, one person loses. And it's me.

— Why weren't Stepnyak and Zubkov in the squad? Why didn't Malinovskiy and Tsygankov start?

— That was my decision. We have a match against France coming up, there needs to be rotation. Stepnyak got food poisoning, he had a fever all day yesterday. Zubkov arrived very late. Sasha hasn't played at all for 'Ferencváros' in recent matches.

— Today the players of Ukraine's national team couldn't score against Pokatilov many times. He is very good in close combat. Should we have approached him differently?

— You need to ask the footballers how to tackle him. They play for big clubs. To teach an experienced player to shoot at goal in two days... Of course, they wanted to score. The goalkeeper of Kazakhstan played well.

— Were you surprised by your opponent?

— My opponent didn't surprise me at all. I congratulate Kazakhstan on their good draw. I believe we completely outplayed the opponent. Unfortunately, many opportunities were not converted. You understand that a coach can't score goals.

— What is Yaremchuk's condition? Why was he substituted?

— Roma got sick, had the coronavirus vaccine at his club. He missed the last match of the league. His temperature rose, a personal characteristic. He told me during halftime that he couldn't play for long.

I will do everything possible to help the boys recover psychologically for the game against France.