Last Friday, the blue-and-yellow team held an evening training session. As on previous days, it took place on the lawn at Cardiff City Football Club's Sports House.

As part of preparing the team for the main part of the match, the fitness trainer Vyacheslav Ruzhenets proposed exercises where players had to quickly pass the ball in a small space.

After this, the squad moved on to the most important task—practicing the tactical model chosen by the coaching staff for the game against Wales. All 22 outfield players and four goalkeepers present at the camp participated in the training sessions.

Photos by the press service of the UAF

And in the evening, the national team gained another player. Upon returning from training, the boys were met at the St. David's hotel lobby by Danylo Ignatenko, who received his first call-up to the national team and had just arrived from the airport. The coach of the blue-and-yellow team Oleksandr Petrakov recalled a player from French Bordeaux FC, who has made a good impression in the French league and recently obtained a British visa. Of course, it will not be easy for 25-year-old Ignatenko to immediately compete for a place in the upcoming World Cup playoff final match, but besides playing against Wales, Ukraine also has three more matches in the Nations League in June, so Danylo will have an opportunity to showcase himself and fight for a spot. Incidentally, the squad warmly welcomed the newcomer with friendly embraces and words of support.

Photos by the press service of the UAF

Tomorrow, on the eve of the decisive match, the national team will hold an official training session at Cardiff City Stadium's pitch where the game on June 5th will take place.

Photos by the press service of the UAF

Training starts at 17.00 local time (19.00 Kyiv time). Half an hour before that, head coach Oleksandr Petrakov and player Oleksandr Karavaev will hold a conference with media representatives in the arena's press room. Ukrainian journalists who cannot travel to Wales can ask their questions via Zoom (the link is available on the UAF media channel).

Alexander Glyvinsky, Press Secretary of Ukraine's National Team

List of Players in Ukraine's National Team

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

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

Midfielders: Taras Stepanenko, Mykhailo Mudryk (both — «Shakhtar» Donetsk), Serhiy Sydorchuk, Viktor Tsygankov, Mykhailo Shaparenko (all — «Dynamo» Kyiv), Oleksandr Pichalok («FC Dnipro-1»), Andriy Yarmolenko («West Ham United», England), Oleksandr Zinchenko («Manchester City», England), Ruslan Malinovskiy («Atalanta», Italy), Oleksandr Zubkov («Ferencváros», Hungary), Danylo Ignatenko («Bordeaux», France).

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