Ruslan Rotan: The match against Olimpik gave the coaching staff a lot of information to think about

31.08.2020 11:00

Photo by Volodymyr Rasner

The head coach of the youth national team of Ukraine U-2021 Ruslan Rotan is glad that he managed to hold a friendly match on the eve of the qualifying matches for Euro-21.

After the friendly with Olimpik, in which Ukraine U-XNUMX won with a score of 5: 1, the leader of the blue-yellows Ruslan Rotan answered journalists' questions.

- How would you comment on the result of the friendly match against Olimpik?

- It doesn't make sense to say anything about the result, because it was just a friendly match, in which we had to remember the connections we had made, the structure of the game, because we hadn't seen the guys for nine months. Definitely, it was better than training. This game gave the coaching staff a lot of information to think about, because the actions of the team were positive and sometimes not as they supposed to be. We will definitely point out the mistakes to the guys and move on.

- There were many tactical changes in the match ...

- If you noticed, we have a lot of new young players. This is our future, but it is very important that they accept our demands as soon as possible. So far, I really like their mood.

- Did you like the second half more than the first, watching your team have been scoring four times?

- Speaking of the integrity of the game, I liked the first 45 minutes more. After the break, there were enough gaps between the lines, although the team went well into the second and third zones, which, in fact, the coaching staff wants to see from the team.

- How did you like Erik Shuranov's debut?

- He played well for the team, the player's desire to work as required of him is noticeable.

- Apart from ball control, what else do you emphasize in working with the team?

- Possession may be different. Sometimes the players hurried, delivering the ball to the final third. The guys know that we have a structure that we want to maintain, we need to work with the ball faster and choose the right positions, when progressing the ball up front.

- Lednev played about 20 minutes ...

- Bohdan felt a little sick, so we decided to save him.

- Oleksandr Syrota left for the main team of the country, and Andrii Stryzhak was called up to Ukraine U-XNUMX...

- We want to see this guy in action. But I will repeat once again, the youth national team of Ukraine works in the interests of the main team of the country. And if Andriy Shevchenko is interested in our footballers, we will be in seventh heaven from happiness (smiles).

- Is everything going according to plan?

- So. Now we are completely switching to preparing for the game with the Danish national team, which we will visit on September 3, the match on the 4th, and then we will fly to Finland for the second qualifying match in this match.

- Will the "youth" play for victory in Denmark and Finland?

- Undoubtedly. We always go out on the field to win, but we also want to show good football.

- By what percentage have you already determined the starting lineup for the match in Denmark?

- We still have a few days. The strongest players at that time will come on the field.