The Olympic team will have a meeting with the Japanese U-23 team on March 25
Head coach Olympic team of Ukraine Ruslan Rotan spoke about his team’s preparation for sparring with Japan.
“We called up eight players who have not yet worked under our leadership in the national team, but half of them know very well our principles for working in Alexandria. Therefore, there are not many newbies. It’s great that at the beginning of summer we will take part in a prestigious international tournament in Marseille. There will be enough matches there, and we will be able to go there with the players of the youth team, which will not have official appearances. I hope that the match in Fukuoka will add to our headache in choosing the squad.”
“A very interesting fight awaits us in Japan. The hosts are preparing for the Asian Youth Cup, where tickets to the Olympics will be awarded. The Japanese are carefully preparing for the tournament. They have a very well-knit team that has been playing together for more than three years.”
“Six foreign players playing in the European championships were called up to the Japanese national team (U-23). Six players were recruited to the national team. We saw many matches with the participation of the Japanese – with Argentina, the USA, qualifying games for the Asian Cup. On March 22, our opponent is sparring from Mali, another participant in the Olympics. I hope that we will have the opportunity to watch this fight.”
“There is not much time, but I see that our football players are very focused and responsible in their theoretical and practical training. Of course, a long flight can make its own adjustments, but this is another test that we need to pass. I believe the guys can handle it.”
Let us remind you that initially the blue-yellow coach called 22 players to a training camp, which takes place from March 17 to 27 in Szegedi, Hungary. Subsequently, it turned out that midfielders Artem Bondarenko, Dmitry Kryskiv and Nikolai Mikhailenko would not help the team due to injuries. In return, Rotan called up Artem Kulakovsky.
As part of the preparation of the blue-yellows for the 2024 Olympic Games, the first sparring partner of the Ukrainian Olympic team will be the Japanese U-23 team. The test match will take place in Fukuoka at the Mikuni Kitakyushu Stadium on Monday, March 25. Starts at 12:15 Kyiv time.
The day before it became known that the Ukrainian team was in group B of the Olympics in Paris. Its opponents in the group round will be Argentina, Morocco and another team, which will be determined based on the results of the Asian Youth Cup, which will be held in May. Perhaps this team will be Japan.
The football tournament at the 2024 Olympic Games will take place from July 24 to August 9. It will be hosted by Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux, Saint-Etienne, Lyon, Nice and Nantes. The current Olympic champion is the Brazilian team, which this time failed to qualify for the final tournament.
According to the regulations, football players born no earlier than January 1, 2001 will be able to play for the national team at the Olympic Games in France. Three older players can also be included in the application.
Source: Sportarena
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