Andriy Shevchenko: “I do not consider the Luxembourg national team an underdog of our group. We are preparing for two very difficult matches »

The head coach of the national team of Ukraine Andriy Shevchenko held a press conference in Kharkiv, where he spoke about the condition of the players of the main team of the country on the eve of the Euro 2020 qualifiers against Serbia and Luxembourg.

- Andriy Mykolayovych, in what condition are the players of the national team now?

- We have left two players in the team who will not take part in these matches. Andriy Yarmolenko continues to recover from the injury, he is in the team in the support group. His presence is important for his partners, especially in the psychological aspect. We want him to recover faster, but of course he will not be able to take part in these two fights. Marlos also trains individually. It will take another three or four days, after which it will become clear whether we can count on him in these games. All others work in a general group and are preparing for Serbia and Luxembourg.    

- Do you follow the games of the youth national team of Ukraine at the World Cup in Poland, and what is the situation with Andriy Lunin?

- The team passed the group, we congratulate the players. It was my decision to leave Lunin in the youth team for now. Practice is also important for him. But he will play against Panama, and then he will come to us anyway. We can't afford more.

- Legionnaires arrived at the camp of the first team earlier. How do you do during the week they spent in Kharkiv?

- They worked well. We really got together earlier, because the European championships ended a little earlier than in Ukraine. There was a friendly match against IC "Dnipro-1". The main task was to remember the structure of our game, connections, mileage. The guys coped with it. Gradually, they are gaining shape, and I am satisfied with their condition.

- There are two matches ahead with the main competitor in the group and the underdog. How to make sure that you have enough strength for two matches to avoid mistakes of other paired matches?

- I do not consider the Luxembourg national team an underdog of our group. She always arranges difficulties for any opponent, especially when playing at home. This team has good players, and we felt it for ourselves. There was no underestimation on our part in the away match against Luxembourg. The boys reacted correctly to the events on the field and scored the winning goal in the last seconds. We are preparing for two very difficult matches. Yes, now is the end of the season, there is some fatigue, but the mood in the team is good, there is motivation. Only Yarmolenko and Marlos trained with restrictions, everyone else is ready to play.

- Have you studied the strongest qualities of the Serbian national team?

- This is a good team with talented performers who play in serious clubs. They have strong individual qualities. Tall players. A complex team ... We studied it. Now some of our trainings are aimed at the upcoming meeting with the Serbs. We have a plan, we are preparing and adjusting to a positive result.

- The injured Yarmolenko is in the team's camp. Maybe he takes the place of someone you sent from the national team?

- He does not take anyone's place here. Andriy is a player of the national team. His presence is important for the team. He positively influences her with his presence.

- How do you assess Yarmolenko's condition? And what can you say about the call to the main team of the country's goalkeeper "Alexandria" Yuri Pankiv?

- It is wrong to assess Andriy's condition. He did not prepare for these matches. But judging by the way it worked, its recovery is progressing. He has a work plan agreed with coaches and doctors to avoid overload. He had an easy job.

As for Pankiv, he is in the national team for the first time, but it seems that we already had it. He deserved this challenge, spent a great season in "Alexandria", with which he won third place in the championship of Ukraine.

- Did you watch the Champions League final? What are your impressions of the match given the trends that could be seen in the game of the two best teams of this tournament?

- The final was good. I did not expect that the score would be opened in the second minute of the match. I think that the penalty influenced the subsequent events on the field. Liverpool already had experience of matches of this level, they prepared well for the final and as an experienced team brought the game to victory, scoring the second goal in the end.

As for trends, the main thing is compactness, interaction between the lines and a good game in defense, which we saw in the final. By the way, the match went without a single yellow card. This indicates that there is a tendency to play without fouls, you need to take the right position on the field and read the game to avoid violations.

- What conclusions did you draw after the joint training of the first team with the players of the "youth" at this meeting?

- We planned such work. Such training was important as training. The guys from the "youth" looked good, some even played in sparring against "Dnipro-1". The main thing was to get exercise.

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