Alexander Petrakov: "France national team is a team with virtually no weaknesses"

09.07.2018 14:44

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

Head coach of the U-19 U-XNUMX national team Alexander Petrakov spoke about the preparation and prospects of his team at the forthcoming European Championship.

Yesterday the youth team of Ukraine (players not older than 1999 year of birth) went to Finland, where he will live and train before the start of the final of the European Championship. And on the eve of departure, the head coach of the team Alexander Petrakov answered questions from the official site of the FFU.

- Oleksandr Vasyliovych, in what mood is the national team going to Finland?

- By nature, I always try to be optimistic, but the condition of the players is still far from optimal, because the guys just started working after the holidays. I specially arranged two sparring matches so that the players could gain at least some tone. Our coaching staff will have two incomplete weeks to prepare for the Euros, while our first rival in the group, the French national team, has been training since June 18 ...

As for the injured, Kashchuk needs another four to five days to be able to work at full strength, and Kornienko in the second match with Kolos has received damage to the lateral ligament of the knee, but we hope that he will have time to recover in the shortest possible time.

- Do footballers understand all the responsibility that falls on them?

- I believe in this. We will try to make them approach the start of the tournament in the best possible condition, but it will not be easy. We are going to Finland to defend the honor of the country. Although it is necessary to understand that in such a difficult time for Ukraine to get to the final part of the European Championship, where there will be no Spain, Holland, Germany, it is already a success ...

- Does the task of the national team of Ukraine not change?

- No. With the coaching staff and players, we have chosen for ourselves the minimum goal - to get to the World Cup. To do this, the Euro must take a place not lower than fifth.

- Will the opening match of the tournament with France be the most difficult?

- How to say. In competitions under the auspices of UEFA, the first criterion for an equal number of points is personal meetings, so a draw can satisfy us only from a psychological point of view. We will try to win, although I have watched the French matches in the elite round more than once and I can say that this is a team with almost no weaknesses.

- Are they the group's favorites?

- Along with England. The British became world champions two years ago. This is a very strong team.

- Do you think the rivals in the group have fears that they will play against the national team of Ukraine?

- Maybe the British have. They follow everything very carefully and probably know that in 2014 Ukraine won the elite round in the foggy Albion, beating the hosts. And in 2016, we beat the British in the elite round by a goal difference. But, as you know, every match is its own story. Not everything is going smoothly with the French in my teams, and we have recently beaten Turkey, but it is a very strong team. It has a lot of individually strong players.

- And in the next group, who is the main contender for the semifinals?

- Definitely - Portugal. Italy, Norway and Finland will compete for the second ticket.