Andriy Shevchenko: "The main thing now is to restore football players after two such difficult matches ..."

11.10.2020 02:55

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

The head coach of the national team of Ukraine Andriy Shevchenko held a press conference after the match of the League of Nations against Germany (1: 2).

- Today everyone is in a better mood, because the team's game was worthy. What do you see as the main positive moment of today's match?

- First of all, I see a positive in the fact that the audience returned to the stands. I also liked the reaction of the guys to the conversation that took place in our country after the match against France. The footballers completely fulfilled the setup for the game. Many of them first came out in an official match at this level, and they proved to be very good.

- What was not enough to achieve a better result, and what should be expected from the team in the League of Nations?

- I have already announced our goals for this tournament: it is preparation for next year, when Euro 2020 and qualifying matches for the World Cup will take place. If we manage to stay in the elite division, it will be a great result.

In the situation in which we find ourselves - injuries, coronavirus infection - these losses greatly affect the quality of our game. We do not have such a choice of players as the leading national teams of Europe. If we have one or two performers, this is a problem. But we consciously take risks, we invite young football players, we create competition. It is possible that some of them will break into the main lineup in the near future.

If you look at the statistics of speed work, even the leading clubs of Ukraine, Dynamo and Shakhtar, can not be compared with representatives of the leading leagues in Europe. We need our players to be able to play at a different level and at different speeds.

- Are there any forces left in the team for the match with Spain, will there be more PCR testing? Maybe new players will be invited?

- The tests will be conducted unambiguously, in accordance with the regulations. We do not plan to invite new players. The main thing now is to restore the players after two such difficult matches that we had. Many efforts were made today. It just doesn't make sense to call someone for numbers. So far, it is difficult to find players who meet the desired characteristics.

- Did you deliberately give up high pressure today? I am also interested in your opinion about Bushchan's game.

- We always support players who make mistakes. No one is safe from mistakes. Bushchan managed, made several saves.

Yes, we had a new plan for the game, but we were only able to train two. This is the complexity of the work of national team coaches - not enough time to practice certain points. But I'm happy that the guys have adapted to the new tactics. Germany is a team that can do everything on the field, fast players are ahead of it, in the middle of the field Kroos is a phenomenal performer who plays almost without losses. Our footballers moved a lot. I think the guys were good today.

- We will have to play against Spain without Malinowski, who will be disqualified. Who can replace him?

- Let's see how the players will recover. Kovalenko had convulsions today… We have several performers in stock who can play in this position.