The day before a friendly match against Japan U-23, the head coach of Ukraine's Olympic team, Ruslan Rotan, held a press conference where he answered journalists' questions. 

"What is the main task for the Ukrainian national team in tomorrow's game?"

— First of all, we want to thank the people of Japan from our country for being very close to us despite the great distance between our countries. Japan is one of the first countries that has stood with us and provided Ukraine with a lot of help in fighting the aggressor.  

As for the question, we are now starting preparation for the Olympic Games. It's important for us to prepare as well as possible. So, playing against Japan's national team is very beneficial. Our opponent is a very strong team. We have watched their matches. I wish your national team qualifies for the Olympics. We will support you, and maybe we'll be in the same group.

"Please tell us how you managed to create such a strong team."

— Thank you for the compliment and I would like to note that our nation, and football players in particular, are maximalists. The success of our Olympic national team is very important for us. We have qualified for the Olympics for the first time, and we don't yet have experience playing there. It's very important for our country, but even more important to prepare well for the Games and perform well. We do indeed have a strong team. The only problem I see today is that not all Ukrainian clubs are willing to release players. This should not be the case because it's an honor for our country—especially in such times. We will try to improve our game, as there is still room for development. 

Photo by the UAF press service

"What's your current roster situation?"

— The situation is such that our first team is currently playing in Euro-2024 qualification matches, and there are players from the Olympic team whom we would like to see at the Games. Moreover, the youth national team will play an important match against Azerbaijan for European qualification. So, this friendly game with Japan is probably third priority because it's a friendly match. Nevertheless, it's very important for us. We have boys who aren't involved in those official matches and are new to the Olympic team. Therefore, the opportunity to go to the Olympics is a great chance for them, and they're focused on that.   

"How do you work with the new UAF president Andriy Shevchenko?"

— Everything is going well for us. The most important thing is that we have communication and understanding. Mr. Andriy supports the Olympic team and understands that the Games are very important competitions. We would like to thank him for organizing our team's preparation in Hungary, where we had the opportunity to train under good conditions. This was very important for us because this team has just come together, and these days were like a breath of fresh air for us. We have dialogue with Andriy Shevchenko and receive help in all necessary moments. We are grateful to the Ukrainian Football Association and Mr. Andriy personally. 

We remind you that the friendly match between Ukraine's Olympic team and Japan U-23 will take place on March 25 at Kitakyushu Stadium and will start at 19:15 local time (12:15 Kyiv time).

Ukraine's Olympic Team Roster

Goalkeepers: Kirill Fesyun ("Kolos" Kovalivka), Georgiy Yermakov ("Oleksandria").

Defenders: Anton Bol («Zorya» Luhansk), Mar’iyan Farina («Metalist 1925» Kharkiv), Roman Didyk («Rukh» Lviv), Maxim Dyachuk («Dynamo» Kyiv), Oleksandr Martinnyuk («Oleksandria»), Yegor Mazenko («Slask», Poland).

Midfielders: El'dar Kuliyev («Zira», Azerbaijan), Ivan Zhelezko («Lechia», Poland), Artem Kulkovskyy, Kiryllo Sygiev, Denis Shostak, Artem Shulyansky (all — «Oleksandria»), Oleksandr Nazarenko («Polesia» Zhovkva), Oleksiy Syts, Oleh Fedor (both — «Rukh» Lviv), Oleksiy Kasyshchuk («Shakhtar» Donetsk).

Forwards: Mykola Kharyarevych («Swansea City», Wales).

We remind you that on March 20, Ukraine learned its opponents for the football tournament at the Olympics-2024. Being in the fourth pot, it received Argentina, Morocco and third team from Asia as group V opponents. The blue-and-yellow will play their group matches on July 24th, 27th and 30th.

2024 Olympics Men's Football Tournament

Group A: France, USA, winner of intercontinental play-off, New Zealand.

Group V: Argentina, Morocco, AFC-3, Ukraine.

Group C: AFC-2, Spain, Egypt, Dominican Republic.

Group D: AFC-1, Paraguay, Mali, Israel.

Schedule for Group V

24.07.2024

Argentina — Morocco (16:00, Saint-Etienne)

AFC-3 — Ukraine (20:00, Lyon)

27.07.2024

Argentina — AFC-3 (16:00, Lyon)

Ukraine — Morocco (18:00, Saint-Etienne)

30.07.2024

Ukraine — Argentina (18:00, Lyon)

Morocco — AFC-3 (18:00, Nice)

Match start times are in Kyiv time. 

The two best teams from Group V will advance to the quarter-finals against representatives of Group A.

The format of the Olympic tournament is traditional: competition in four groups with four teams each, then the top two teams from each group proceed to the knockout stage, followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals, third-place match and final (9 August, Paris, «Parc des Princes»).

We remind you that last summer, our team achieved an historic success—qualifying for the football tournament at the Olympics—for the first time by defeating France (3-1) in the quarter-final of Euro 2023 (U-21) and securing a spot in the semi-finals. Along with Ukraine, Spain and Israel earned Olympic licenses through the youth Euro 2023. 

As of today, twelve participants are already known for the men's football tournament at the 2024 Olympics, which will take place from July 24 to August 9 in seven cities across France: Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Saint-Etienne, Nice and Nantes. According to the regulations, players born after January 1, 2001 can participate in these competitions. Additionally, each team may include three players who are older than this age limit.

In total, sixteen national teams will compete in the tournament: France as host, three from Europe (Ukraine, Spain, Israel), three from Africa (Morocco, Egypt, Mali), three from Asia (to be determined by May 3), two from South America (Paraguay, Argentina), two from CONCACAF (USA, Dominican Republic), one from Oceania (New Zealand), and the winner of a play-off between fourth-placed teams in Africa (Guinea) and Asia.