The acting head coach of the Ukraine national team, Ruslan Rotan, appeared at a press conference ahead of the Euro 2024 qualifying match against England, which will take place on March 26 in London at «Wembley» (kickoff - 19:00 Kyiv time).

— What information did the friendly match against «Brentford» provide you with? Why was it so closed?

— If all those who wanted to attend the match could have, the stadium would be full. There were organizational issues not only for our association but also for «Brentford», which organized the game. The match was important in terms of us not having gathered together for a long time and conducting few joint training sessions. Such matches allow us to better feel the connections, improve interaction between units.

— Have you analyzed the previous match against England — at Euro 2020? Have you decided on the lineup for tomorrow's game?

— As for the lineup, there is no point in talking about it now. We have a squad in mind, and everyone will see it tomorrow. Regarding the previous encounter at Euro 2020, we watched it many times with our colleagues. We will make conclusions, especially regarding play during set pieces. We understand what atmosphere will be like at «Wembley». We know England well, which is in the world top-5, as I already mentioned. We dream of playing such matches and enjoy them. Tomorrow in this beautiful country on a magnificent stadium against a great team, we are ready to show wonderful play. We will fight for a result that will satisfy us.

— You are currently the acting head coach of the national team as well as the manager of the youth squad and «Oleksandria». How do you manage these responsibilities? Does yesterday's victory by the U-21 team add positivity?

— Currently, the «youth squad» is adding to our confidence, which is a very good sign. As for my position, tomorrow there's a match, and I am fulfilling the duties of the head coach of the national team, so I'm focused on this game. The day after tomorrow morning, I will travel to Italy for a youth squad match. Right now, we all in the country are dealing with a situation from which we need to emerge. When asked to take up this position for the England match, I could not refuse — it would have been unpatriotic on my part. We are concentrating on tomorrow's game.