Brdovskiy locality delights its guests with pleasant sunny weather for the third day in a row. The national park spans an area of 500 hectares, 75 of which are open to visitors.

Finally, these days visitors on picturesque paths rarely meet each other, perhaps due to the large territory and because the golf course is located in a different part than the football center. Moreover, certainly, this is because the tourist season has not yet started, during which one can see rare species of butterflies — there are as many as 32 of them here! By the way, a hotel was named after one of these particularly beautiful butterfly varieties — the Elegant with its long blue tail — where the national team of Ukraine is currently staying.

Photos by the press service of the UAF

So, enjoying the local flora and not yet feeling the full richness of the fauna here, Ukrainians continued intensive work in a double session format. The morning session — as usual, in the gym: this time the fitness coach and rehabilitation specialist Vyacheslav Ruzhenets assigned a complex of physical exercises aimed at transforming strength into speed. In other words, the guys worked on their explosive power. After that — a 15-minute run around the training fields and back to the hotel.

Photos by the press service of the UAF

In the evening, work continued on the football pitch. The coaching staff set the task to practice passing with finishing shots at small goals, actions in attack and counterattack, and implementing tactics worked out in game series. The last component always sparks competition among players because teams play for points. This time there was a fierce battle that ended in a draw — 3:3, although one of the teams would not mind reviewing on video a goal that was disallowed at the very end — apparently due to offside. But the referee, who is also the head coach Oleksandr Petrakov, stood firm in his decision. A penalty shootout also did not produce a winner even after all 10 players participating in the training, including goalkeepers, had taken their shots. Thus, the training match ended in a draw and with elevated spirits among all participants, as no one lost.

Photos by the press service of the UAF

Tonight, footballers will watch the UEFA Champions League semifinal in which Ukrainian players Andriy Lunin and Oleksandr Zinchenko's clubs — Real Madrid and Manchester City — meet. In their predictions, the guys lean more towards a fierce draw, possibly encouraged by the peaceful conclusion of the evening session.

Photos by the press service of the UAF

In any case, may the strongest prevail, and the national team of Ukraine awaits reinforcement in the form of our footballers who play abroad.

Tomorrow throughout the day to the camp of blue-and-yellow will join 10 players from Kyiv's Dynamo and Dnipropetrovsk Dnipro-1 striker Artem Dovbik, who today are participating in a charity match between Kyivans and Swiss Basel.

And on May 6 the national team will hold an open day for media at the Football Federation of Slovenia's training center. Media representatives will be able to attend a press conference with head coach Oleksandr Petrakov and one of the players (start — 16:30 CET) and an open training session of Ukraine's national team (start — 17:00). For Ukrainian journalists who wish to ask questions, a Zoom conference will be organized.

Alexander Glyvinskyi, press secretary of the national team of Ukraine

List of players called up from Ukrainian clubs

Goalkeepers: Georgiy Bushchan (Dynamo Kyiv), Andriy Pyatov, Anatoliy Trubin (both — Shakhtar Donetsk), Dmytro Riznyk (Vorskla Poltava).

Defenders: Oleksandr Karavayev, Illia Zabarnyi, Oleksandr Syrota, Denys Popov (all — Dynamo Kyiv), Mykhailo Matviienko, Serhiy Krivosheyenko, Viktor Korniyenko, Valerii Bondar, Yurim Konoplia (all — Shakhtar Donetsk).

Midfielders: Taras Stepanenko, Mykhailo Mudryk (both — Shakhtar Donetsk), Serhiy Sydorchuk, Viktor Tsygankov, Mykhailo Shaparenko, Vitaliy Buyalskyi, Denys Harmash (all — Dynamo Kyiv), Serhiy Bulytsa (Zorya Luhansk), Oleksandr Pichalonok, Oleksii Hutsulyak (both — SK Dnipro-1).

Forwards: Artem Dovbik (SK Dnipro-1), Artem Besedin (Dynamo Kyiv).