Now it rains all day, and the temperature has dropped to 11 degrees. For comparison, in Glasgow at that time — +14. So boldly one can say that even nature is preparing the blue-and-yellow team for a visit to misty Albion. After all, training in such cold weather is easier for football players: working in the heat exhausts them more. Therefore, the twice-a-day training schedule planned for today was easier for the players to shift than under, say, scorching sun.

Photo by the UAF press service

Morning training started with a cheerful birthday greeting for Vitaliy Mykolenko. At the coach's call, the team quickly formed a living tunnel for the defender to run through as fast as possible, since the friendly greeting included hitting him with a ball! Such Cossack entertainment boosted the morale of the group, which immediately got down to routine but important work.

For the evening birthday celebration, they greeted Vitaliy more solemnly — not with balls and slaps, but directly with two cakes!

Photo by the UAF press service

After a running warm-up, the boys worked on shots and passes with their heads during a game exercise that also requires agility, coordination, and, of course, accuracy. Therefore, head coach Oleksandr Petrakov along with his assistants set the players the goal of working on team actions while executing standard situations.

Photo by the UAF press service

By evening, the rain had intensified and it got even colder outside (9 degrees). So the boys either had to work at a fast pace or avoid muscle cooling. After an intensive warm-up and ball control practice, the team split into groups for work in squares.

The main training was expected to focus more on tactics. According to the task set by the coaching staff, players worked on different tactical schemes through game series.

Tomorrow the national team will hold its final practice session, in the morning at the training ground of the Football Association of Slovenia, where they have been working for a whole month. The high-level infrastructure, great conditions, and care shown by Slovenian friends to Ukrainians gave our team the best possible preparation for the June matches. So tomorrow they will leave Brdo with deep gratitude and a sense of sadness, as this place has become their true home and shelter during wartime. Here the players had the unique opportunity to focus on their profession. The Slovenes constantly emphasize that they will be deeply rooting for Ukraine in decisive duels, and we will definitely cheer for our hospitable friends in those competitions.

Tomorrow after lunch, the national team will leave Brdo: the flight from Ljubljana airport to Glasgow is scheduled for 16.45.

Alexander Glyvinsky, press secretary of Ukraine's national team

Photo by the UAF press service

List of players in Ukraine's national team

Goalkeepers: Georgiy Bushchan («Dynamo» Kyiv), Andriy Pyatov («Shakhtar» Donetsk), Dmytro Rytsnik («Vorskla» Poltava), Andriy Lunin («Real», Spain).

Defenders: Oleksandr Karavaev, Illia Zabarnyi, Oleksandr Syrota, Dmytro Popov (all — «Dynamo» Kyiv), Mykhailo Matviyenko, Valeri Bondar (both — «Shakhtar» Donetsk), Vitaliy Mykolenko («Everton», England), Eduard Sobolev («Brugge», Belgium), Taras Kachariaba («Slavia», Czech Republic).

Midfielders: Taras Stepanenko, Mykhailo Mudryk (both — «Shakhtar» Donetsk), Serhiy Sydorchuk, Viktor Tsygankov, Mykhailo Shaparenko (all — «Dynamo» Kyiv), Oleksandr Pichalenko (SK «Dnipro-1»), Andriy Yarmolenko («West Ham», England), Oleksandr Zinchenko («Manchester City», England), Ruslan Malinovskiy («Atalanta», Italy), Oleksandr Zubkov («Ferencvaros», Hungary).

Forwards: Artem Dovbyk (SK «Dnipro-1»), Roman Yaremchuk («Benfica», Portugal), Danilo Sikan («Hansa», Germany).

Photo by the UAF press service