Sergei emphasizes the importance of competition in every position and is confident that all the players he has available deserve their call-up
Head coach Ukrainian national team Sergey Rebrov spoke about preparations for the match with the Georgian national team in the Nations League, as well as about the personnel situation in the team, the composition of which has undergone many forced changes.
“Yarmolyuk? We are following him, he helps the youth team, he has been called there. Now we have called up more players who represent the national championship. This is a chance for them, I’m sure they will use it.”
“Yarmolenko did not make it into the national team, because now, in my opinion, there is a lot of competition among players from the national championship. In general, we look at the League of Nations as a tournament where we can see candidates for the national team. Yes, I talked to him and explained. I think he is a special player for the national team. I told him my position. It is very important for us to give a chance to candidates who prove themselves in the national championship.”
“It is very important for us that there is competition in every position. If someone is injured, we try to find a replacement among candidates for the national team or among players from the reserve list. It is important that there are at least two players per position. I think the players who were called up and called up really deserve it. There are a lot of new players, but in the training process I don’t see that they are lost somewhere or aren’t doing something. Not only the training process is very important, but also how they show themselves in the game. We give a chance to all players.”
“We lost the first two matches. Of course, we must show a different level, a different faith in the result. Speaking of the Nations League, it replaced friendly matches, when it was easier for coaches to test candidates. Now these games are official. The players understand that every match at the national team level is a big event for our country. In the next two matches, we cannot talk only about the result, but we must also talk about desire, perseverance, and how we play for the country. For me, the Nations League is more of a preparation for qualification. But, of course, this tournament also provides a chance to get into the playoffs for the World Cup.”
“I can’t say that we didn’t want to win the previous two matches. If you remember the game against the Czech Republic, we made 20 shots on goal, and not only controlled the ball. For example, we analyzed Euro matches when teams shot 15-16 times and won. Unfortunately, we lost, but we tried to win. Yes, we lost two games, but we are looking forward. Of course, tomorrow we will try to win the match against Georgia and show our level.”
On October 7, the Ukrainian national team began preparations for the upcoming matches of the 2024/25 Nations League in Division B (Group 1). Initially, representatives of UPL clubs went to Poland by train with Rebrov. The rest of the players joined the national team camp in Poland.
The composition of the national team has undergone a number of changes compared to the original list. Due to injuries, Viktor Tsygankov, Vitaly Mikolenko, Andrey Yarmolenko, Alexander Zinchenko, Ruslan Malinovsky, Andrey Lunin, Vladimir Brazhko and Alexander Pikhalenok will not be able to help the blue-yellows.
Instead of the dropped performers, Alexander Svatok, Vitaly Buyalsky and Ivan Kalyuzhny were called up to the team. Lunin, who had contracted a viral infection, was replaced on the list by Dmitry Riznyk, and a debutant, Polesie midfielder Alexander Nazarenko, also arrived at the national team camp.
Let us remind you that in September the blue-yellows were defeated by Albania in a formally home match of the 1st round of Group B1 of the 2024/25 Nations League – 1:2, and then in a productive match of the 2nd round they lost to the Czech Republic (2:3). Both fights took place in Prague.
The Ukrainian team closes the standings of group B1. Albania and the Czech Republic have three points each after two rounds, Georgia is in the lead with two victories.
Rebrov’s team will play their next match on October 11 against Georgia in Poznan, Poland. Start – at 21:45 Kyiv time. The match will be judged by the Austrian team of referees led by Julian Weinberger.
On October 14, the blue-yellows will play against the Czech Republic. The match will take place in another Polish city – Wroclaw.
Source: Sportarena
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
