Today, September 4th, ahead of the 2026 World Cup qualifier match against France in Wroclaw, head coach of the Ukraine national team Serhiy Rebrov held a press conference.

— Mr. Serhiy, right off the bat, a personnel question. Roman Yaremchuk was absent. Why did you decide not to call anyone in his place?

— You are mistaken, we called up Voloshin. Unfortunately, Roman suffered an injury while playing for his club and was very upset. We received confirming images — the injury will prevent him from participating in upcoming matches, so he remained with his club.

— Are all players ready for tomorrow's game?

— Unfortunately, not everyone. But this is not the first time we have had many injuries. Such things happen. However, all players who are in the squad are seriously prepared, and I am confident that tomorrow we will give a good fight.

— A question about Andriy Yarmolenko. Over the summer you said that if it weren't for friendly matches, he would definitely be in the squad. What has changed over these months? Why didn't you call him up this time?

— Because there is a lot of competition for his position. Right now we have called up these players, but Andriy — he's a potential squad player.

— What does it mean to you to coach the national team when your country is at war?

— Unfortunately, we have been in this state for over three years... It's a great honor for me — representing our country. I and all players always thank the Armed Forces of Ukraine, our defenders. Everything we do is for them. This is truly very difficult. Difficult not because of travel and logistics. Difficult to understand what is happening in our country. Many have friends and family at home. It's very psychologically tough. But at the same time it adds motivation to the players. And when they come out on the field with the flag of Ukraine, they truly feel for whom they are playing.

— Searches were conducted in the assistant coach of the youth national team Kirill Mazur. The name of your assistant, Hlib Plotov, also appeared in the media. Can you explain if Plotov is accused of something? Does this affect the team's preparation?

— It doesn't affect anything at all. This has nothing to do with team preparation. Right now we are gathered for a game that is very important for us. The youth national team also has an equally responsible match coming up.

— You play in many stadiums. Do you feel the support will be greatest in Wroclaw?

— We are already playing here for the third time. We played against England and Iceland, and now we'll play against France. We always feel the support at all stadiums wherever we play. But in Wroclaw there is indeed a very good stadium. We are very grateful to Poland for constantly helping us with match organization. This is very important to us. We feel the support of Poles when we turn to them.

We have played in many countries — Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland. Truly thankful to people who help us during this very difficult period for Ukraine.

— The start of the qualifiers can be compared to a clean slate. The Ukrainian national team is not the favorite in the group, but do you have faith that we can win this group?

— In my opinion, it's always necessary to think about what will happen in the future and prepare for each encounter seriously. Tomorrow we have France. We need to prepare very seriously. Then Azerbaijan comes up. Need to take things step by step, showing maximum commitment in every game. We play against the strongest national teams, the strongest players. This is very difficult, but I believe in my boys. See their motivation, their desire. Confident that we will do everything possible.

— At the start of the season not all Ukrainian league players have game practice at their clubs. What's more important — to play consistently, even if it's not at the highest level, or train alongside star performers in top European teams?

— I generally don't differentiate between footballers who play in Europe and those in Ukraine. Game practice is always important, and right now there is a lot of it for representatives of Ukrainian clubs. Too much. We couldn't even conduct two training sessions because the boys were very tired, mostly recovery. So I am pleased that almost all our players have game practice, but when there's too much of it, it leads to fatigue.

— How will you address the problem on the left flank of defense that arose after Mykolenko's injury? Do you expect surprises from the French national team?

— The French national team is a big surprise in itself. Whichever player you don't take — it's a surprise. We are seriously preparing.

As for Mykolenko, he didn't attend any training sessions with us — unfortunately, he got injured at his club. We called up Dubynchak, Vladyslav has already joined us. We will decide tomorrow who will cover this position.

Recall that the 2026 World Cup qualifier match between Ukraine and France will take place in Wroclaw on September 5 (kickoff at 9:45 PM Kyiv time).