Oleksandr Petrakov: «We even slightly over-fulfilled the task, having made our way to the Euro semi-finals»

31.07.2018 10:30

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

Head coach of U-19 U-2018 national team Oleksandr Petrakov spoke about performance at Euro-XNUMX and shared his plans.

Yesterday at the Football House welcomed U-19 youth team, which at the last European Championship made it to the semifinals tournament and won a ticket to the World Cup, which will be held next year on the fields of Poland. After the official part of the event, the mentor of the blue-yellows Oleksandr Petrakov answered questions from journalists.

- Alexander Vasilyevich, how do you feel now?

- Fatigue. The greatest joy was after the match with Turkey, when it became clear that the national team of Ukraine reached the semifinals of the Euro. And from defeat at this stage by the Portuguese slightly spoiled the impression of being in Finland. Our guys just didn't have the strength. The players who were in the reserve are also qualified, but their time seems to be over.

- What was the main key to success in the group stage of the competition?

- In cohesion, game discipline, dedication and functional readiness of the team.

- And the main goal, getting to the U-20 World Cup, which will be held in Poland next year, the team achieved…

- Exactly. We even slightly exceeded the task, making our way to the semifinals of the Euro. But let no one think that the team came out of the game against Portugal not set up properly. We should not forget that the Iberian national team is the European champion among 17-year-olds. This is a very strong team. In addition, there was one extra day of rest for the opponent. The British faced a similar problem, losing to the Norwegians in a joint match for a ticket to the World Cup. And the French did not look as usual in the semifinal match with the Italians.

- You said that if the national team of Ukraine gets to the world championship, you are the whole family you will go to Poland ...

- So. I am organizing this trip at my own expense. I think many parents of my players will also be present at the World Cup.

- When will the first training camp after the European Championship take place?

- It is planned that in November we will play a friendly match with the national team of Uzbekistan. And next year I will ask the leadership of the Football Federation of Ukraine to organize sparring matches with non-European teams. It can be the USA, Japan, China, Qatar. It is possible that thanks to their ties it will be possible to reach an agreement with Uruguay, if, of course, the Latin Americans get to the World Cup.

We will try to prepare for the trip to Poland as best we can. FFU President Andriy Pavelko said that he would do everything possible for our team that we would not need anything at all.

- What is your goal for the team at the World Cup?

- The minimum task is to leave the group. And there life will show. I try to do everything gradually

- At that time in Ukraine can with'appear talents that you pay attention to?

- I really want to believe in it, but I strongly doubt it. However, don't forget that we still have Tymofiy Sukhar and Oleksiy Kashchuk, who are currently injured, who didn't have time to recover before the start of the Euro. I also want to see Andriy Lunin. I have already talked to the FFU president on this topic. At the end of May, the Spanish championship ends. This goalkeeper will help us a lot.