Natalia Zinchenko: "The tournament in Spain was first and foremost extremely informative"

14.03.2020 17:20

Photo by Andrii Mayorov

The next stage of preparation for the Euro-2021 qualifying matches was held in Spain by the Ukrainian women's national team, where it finished third in the representative international tournament Pinatar Cup.

- I am very pleased with the trip to Spain, where thanks to the UAF we created the right conditions for the training process, and sparring with strong opponents helped to see what we really are worth, - said head coach of Ukraine Natalia Zinchenko in a comment to the official website of the UAF.

- And yet to some extent I was surprised that among the participants Pinatar Cup there were no spanish ...

- The fact is that the organizer of these competitions is the Scottish Football Association, and it was she who determined the composition of the participants. And I am very pleased that we were among the guests.

- Was the national team of Ukraine represented by the fighting staff?

- Yes, although it should be borne in mind that the season in Ukraine has not yet resumed, and my wards were not in uniform.

- In Spain, there were no surprises: the national team of Ukraine overcame the resistance of the players Northern Ireland (4-0), which are below it in the rankings, and lost Scotsman (0: 3) and Icelanders (0: 1), ahead of her in the table of ranks. Was everything really on the game?

- I think we did not deserve to lose in the match with the Icelanders, but their goalkeeper was on top. However, at this stage of preparation it was important for us to get rich in game practice, to borrow some home-made products from famous opponents. In particular, I was very pleasantly surprised by the Scots. Previously, they acted in a straightforward manner, in a forceful manner, and here they were amused by the combinational style, the ability to quickly move from defense to attack.

- Were you able to involve all the players called up for the gathering?

- Yes, now I have comprehensive information on who is worth what. I will note that the door to the national team is still open, and in the near future in the calendar matches of the Ukrainian championship I plan to see a few more potential players of the main team of the country.