In the first September match of the Nations League, Ukraine lost to Scotland in Glasgow at Hampden Park — 0:3. After the game, head coach of the Ukrainian national team Oleksandr Petrakov held a press conference.

— Why did your team look different today compared to before?

— We didn't have our main players who were injured, so I gave other footballers a chance. Zinchenko, Bushchan, Shaparenko did not play, and Zabarnyi got a yellow card... Trubin played decently. I gave another player a chance, but they didn't perform well. In the first half, the team looked even worse, while in the second we saw so much lack of skill… Our football is somewhat different from British football. I warned the boys and talked to them about it. Yesterday during training, something wasn't right. I stopped the session and spoke with them…

— Do you consider that Scotland now has the best chances of winning in the group?

— First, we need to analyze the game. Nothing is lost yet. Ahead lies an important match against Armenia, generally two matches. I look optimistically towards the future, and we will do everything possible to secure first place.

— Why did you substitute Stepanenko during halftime?

— He had a yellow card. I spoke with him at halftime and decided to make the substitution.

— Could you comment on Bondar's performance? Did you have a dilemma about whether to start him or Kryvtsov?

— Dilemmas always exist. Bondar started alongside Matviyenko in the "starting lineup." I decided to play with this formation. The head coach makes all decisions. If the team wins, everyone celebrates, but if they lose, it's the head coach who is responsible — that's my fault.

— Did you request a rescheduling of the Ukrainian Premier League before these national team matches?

— I discussed this because we are not playing at home. There is war in our country, as you know? We need to play the game and travel by train or bus. It's no longer like it was before when we flew on a plane.

— Will Trubin remain with the team?

— I made a decision, thanked him. He will go to assist the youth national team of Ukraine. Kovalenko also remains in the squad. An MRI was done on him, and he has an injury.