Yevhen Varenytsa: “All the competitors are above us in the world ranking, but we will fight!”

09.10.2019 13:10

Head coach of the Ukrainian beach soccer team Yevgeny Varenytsa spoke about the challenges facing our team at the World Beach Games in Qatar.

Last night our team went to the capital of Qatar - Doha, where it will take part in the Ι World Beach Games. Ukraine will play in Group C together with Iran, Paraguay and Senegal.

On the eve of departure of the helmsman blue and yellow Eugene Varenitsa announced the composition of the national team of Ukraine and shared her thoughts on the challenges ahead of her at the prestigious tournament. 

"Unfortunately, we were not able to fully prepare for the competition. The players worked in clubs, and gathered together just before departure. Adverse weather conditions did not allow training in Kyiv on the sand, and in synthetic fields or halls it was not desirable to do so precisely because of the coverage. Already in Qatar, two trainings are planned, we will try to make up for lost time.  

The first match we play against Iran, which is the fifth team in the world ranking. This is a favorite of our group, and we will also not be able to participate in the match Sidorenko and Pachev, who received red cards in the last official meeting. We traveled to Iran for two consecutive years for an international tournament in Bushehr. They also carefully prepared for those competitions, and we came, as they say, from the ship to the ball. And they played on equal footing, so this is not the first time for us. All of our players are toned, and this is the most important thing.

In general, all rivals are higher than us in the rankings, but it does not mean anything, we will fight! Only one team from each group reaches the semifinals, so the only task is to take first place to continue the fight for medals. 

The second match we have with Paraguay, a team that I consider to be the second in South America after Brazil. They often play with the Brazilians, which is why their level is constantly increasing. It is a very strong team, which consists of world-class stars. They are invited to leading clubs, and together they are a very difficult opponent.

The Senegalese we will meet in the third match are tall guys of athletic build. They may be technically weaker than other rivals, but due to their excellent "physics" they also pose a significant threat. They show open, even desperate football. We will need some restructuring to successfully confront them. I think everything will be fine, "said Yevhen Varenytsia.

Schedule of matches of the national team of Ukraine

11.10.2019   Ukraine - Iran 19.30

13.10.2019/XNUMX/XNUMX Paraguay - Ukraine   21.00

14.10.2019/XNUMX/XNUMX Senegal - Ukraine     16.30

The composition of all groups

Group A: Brazil, Switzerland, UAE, Morocco.

Group B: Italy, Spain, Mexico, Solomon Islands.

Group C: Iran, Paraguay, Senegal, Ukraine. 

Group D: Russia, Japan, Uruguay, El Salvador.

Only the winners of each of the four groups will advance to the playoffs. The best team of our quartet will play in the semifinals with the winner of Group D. Note that the beach soccer tournament starts on October 11, the day before the official opening ceremony of the Games.