Transcript of a press conference with the head coach of Ukraine's national team, Andrea Maldera, ahead of the 5th round match in the 2026/2027 Nations League.

- Evaluate the team's gathering in Uzhhorod. How did everything go? Northern Ireland has not conceded a goal yet in the Nations League. You previously mentioned problems with attacking play. What have you worked on to address these issues and what can we expect from your next game?

- Regarding the gathering in Uzhhorod — everything went very well. We worked hard, had great training sessions and training sessions. It was nice to be among our people. Northern Ireland deserves their top position in the group. So we know that we are facing a team that is currently in excellent form.

Regarding goals scored — yes, it's true that we haven't scored many. But I think in the two lost matches, we achieved less than what our play deserved.

- Returning to the previous match against Northern Ireland: was the score 0:3 fair and what can you change in your game for tomorrow?

- Of course, the result on the field needs to be taken into account. But we conceded two goals from set pieces. If I remember correctly, we entered the penalty area 44 times. So, as I already said, Northern Ireland deserves their position. However, perhaps the score of 0:3 in the first match was a bit too harsh given the nature of that game.

Of course, we need to be more careful in certain situations and reduce the number of mistakes we made. So we will try to be better prepared for a better match than in the first encounter and at least play more effectively. We know that there will be very hot atmosphere here. But this should serve as additional motivation for us to be ready for the game.

- Before previous Nations League matches, you openly named the goalkeeper who would play in the next game. Can you say who will play tomorrow?

- Yes, Trubin will be in goal tomorrow. There is one more training session left, but I plan to put him in the starting lineup. As for other players, Shaparenko has had a slight muscle strain over the past few days. Bondar has mild muscle overload, but nothing serious — just some fatigue after many matches. That's basically all our injuries. The rest of the players are ready to play tomorrow.

- If you had to choose between showing a very good game tomorrow or achieving a result, which would you pick?
 

- I think it's very difficult to achieve a result by playing poorly. Then you rely on luck, chance, something that is not in your control. We need to create the best conditions for victory in the match because, in my opinion, then the chances of winning will be highest. I also realize that we really need a result now. So if it's positive, of course, I'll take it. But it's hard for me to imagine us playing poorly and still winning. It's difficult for me to accept this. But if it happens — of course, great.
 

- After two losses in the last two matches, what do you expect from your team's performance in this group?
 

- We need to accumulate as many points as possible and then see where we stand after two matches. Everything is still open, our group is very balanced. So I think that right now we are a bit behind in the standings. The last two losses, in my opinion, do not reflect how well we played. In the last match, we also had many absent players.

But I believe, very much so, that we can play two great matches and achieve good results. Of course, I want to add: we cannot be satisfied with this. We all need to do more because what we did was not enough. But the boys are very responsible and they understand it first of all. They are also very disappointed by these two losses and, of course, really want to make amends.

- What are your impressions of Yegor Yarmoluk, who conducted his first training session under your leadership?
 

- Finally, I got to meet him. Unfortunately, due to his problems, he couldn't join us earlier. I saw a boy who is very well integrated into the group, and this is very important. He is an important player for this national team. So I'm glad that he's with us. I saw that he was in good shape and had the desire. But like everyone else, he is part of a highly motivated group, which gives me great confidence.