Eugene Volynets and Nazar Voloshin, players of the blue-and-yellow team, spoke about their call-up to the national team and their expectations for these matches. 

Eugene Volynets (goalkeeper): "I was already in the squad once before, but it's very pleasant that I've been called up again. I'm happy to be here. I found out about the call-up before the match against 'Metalist 1925'—Oleksiy Hushchylak told me there was a message for me in the group chat. Then, the national team administrator contacted me. My reaction was, of course, positive. I'm very happy. 

Photo: Dan Balashov

Three years ago, I was called up to the national team. Of course, there have been changes since then. A new coach and some players. But I'm familiar with almost everyone, so it's not a problem. Three years ago, I came from another club (Kovalevskiy 'Colos'—Note), and I didn't know any of the team members in the squad. Now it's easier; they help me a bit. Oleksiy Hushchylak advised me to stay calm—he said everything would be fine. Overall, the club welcomed my call-up and said that I deserved it.

I don't have any nerves before the matches against France and Iceland. As for my expectations, right now, I'm only interested in a positive result."  

Nazar Voloshyn (defender): "I found out about being called up to the national team at home after playing against 'Dynamo'. Reaction? I quickly packed and went to the station. It took me only two minutes—I was in a hurry. The squads of France and Iceland are very good, quality teams. It will be difficult, but we have a goal and we'll move towards it." 

Ukraine Squad

Goalkeepers: Eugene Volynets ('Polissya' Zhytomyr), Anatoliy Trubin ('Benfica' Lisbon, Portugal), Dmytro Riznyk ('Shakhtar' Donetsk).

Defenders: Ilya Zabarnyi ('Paris Saint-Germain' Paris, France), Oleksandr Svatok ('Austin', USA), Valeri Bondar, Mykhailo Matviyenko, Yurym Konoplyan (all—'Shakhtar' Donetsk), Vitaliy Mykolenko ('Everton' Liverpool, England), Bohdan Mikhaylichenko ('Polissya' Zhytomyr), Oleksandr Karavaev, Taras Mykhalko (both—'Dynamo' Kyiv).

Midfielders: Yegor Yarmoluk ('Brentford', England), Ivan Kalyuzhnyy ('Metalist 1925' Kharkiv), Mykhailo Shaparenko, Nazar Voloshyn (both—'Dynamo' Kyiv), Georgiy Sudakov ('Benfica' Lisbon, Portugal), Oleksandr Ocheretyna, Yegor Nazaryn (both—'Shakhtar' Donetsk), Oleksiy Hushchylak ('Polissya' Zhytomyr), Ruslan Malinovskiy ('Genoa' Genoa, Italy), Viktor Tsygankov ('Girona', Spain), Oleksandr Zubkov ('Trabzonspor' Trabzon, Turkey).

Forwards:  Vladyslav Vanat ('Girona', Spain), Roman Yaremchuk ('Olympiacos' Piraeus, Greece).

Reserve List

Ruslan Nescheret, Konstantin Vycharenko, Oleksandr Timchyk, Oleksandr Pikhalyonok (all—'Dynamo' Kyiv), Maxim Taloviyor ('Stoke City' Stoke-on-Trent, England), Artem Bondarenko ('Shakhtar' Donetsk), Oleksandr Nazarenko, Vladyslav Velyten (both—'Polissya' Zhytomyr).

On November 12 at the 'Parc des Princes' stadium, traditional pre-match activities will take place. At 7:00 PM Kyiv time, a press conference with Serhiy Rebrov and one of his players will begin, followed by training for the blue-and-yellow team on the pitch where the match between France and Ukraine will be held on November 13.