Yaremchuk: We need to talk less and do more on the football field

Attack Ukrainian national team Roman Yaremchuk shared his expectations from the match against Iceland in the qualifying final European Championship 2024.

“We need to say less in the press that this is the match of our lives, that we must win. We need to talk less and do more on the football field. We all understand that this is an important match for us. All players perform at a high level in their clubs, but representing the country is a completely different matter. We need to talk less and show on the football field that we are not good football players in words, but in deeds.”

“Of course, it’s a plus that we represent the best world championships. It’s not easy for the coaching staff to gather us all into one scheme in a few days so that we all think the same way. We play in different schemes in clubs, but the level of football players, of course, has increased. We need to show this on the football field, because in the last match we did not show our level as great football players. We need to show this tomorrow, because a lot of our fans will gather and it will be a very important match.”

“Now there is a change of generations, young players are coming. Of course, Yarmolenko and Stepanenko are missing in the locker room. Their leadership qualities. Sometimes it is necessary for one of the elders to shake up the young ones, in a good way. They don’t have enough experience for such important matches, but many players perform at a fairly high level and can help and advise.”

“It’s bad that someone talked about the conversation between the players after the match with Bosnia and Herzegovina. We had an experience after the game with Scotland, when we were very euphoric that we were one step away from the World Cup, but in the match against Wales we disappointed the whole country and then went around crying and wiping each other’s snot. There was a conversation so that this would not happen again. Everyone forgot the match with Bosnia and went to the hotel in the mood for the next match. The situation in the country does not allow celebrating. We need to please our fans and the guys holding the front.”

Ukraine’s nominally “home” match with Iceland will take place in Wroclaw, Poland, on March 26. The meeting starts at 21:45 Kyiv time. The match will be judged by a French team of referees led by Clement Turpin. The winner of the confrontation will advance to the 2024 European Championship, where they will play in Quartet E with Belgium, Slovakia and Romania.