Oleksandr Petrakov: I asked to gather a team on April 29

15.04.2022 19:05

Photo of UAF press service

The head coach of the national team of Ukraine Oleksandr Petrakov answered the questions of the UAF press service after announcing the team's squad that will prepare for the 2022 World Cup play-offs and the Nations League games.

- The starting date and venue of the training camp of the national team of Ukraine have been determined. How has it become possible in wartime?

- First of all, I would like to thank UAF President Andrii Pavelko and UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin for organizing this important training camp for the Ukrainian national team, as well as the leadership of the state, which gave us permission to leave Ukraine temporarily to defend its interests abroad.

Earlier, during a meeting with the UAF head, I asked to be able to gather the team on April 29, because, as you know, we missed the March FIFA dates due to the Russian army's invasion of Ukraine, and therefore the players are completely deprived of playing practice. That is why it is important to gather the team on April 29 so that we can properly prepare for the crucial match against Scotland and the next official games. In June, we will have a busy calendar, so the usual time for gathering will not be enough. I am therefore very grateful to the UEFA President personally for his assistance and opportunity to gather at a wonderful training center near his hometown of Ljubljana.

- Meanwhile, the leading Ukrainian clubs, Dynamo and Shakhtar, have already started their training camps and held their first friendly charity matches. Will this contribute to the preparation of players?

- Of course, I want to thank these clubs and personally their head coaches and presidents. Club training will help the players of the national team to approach the beginning of our training cycle in the best condition. It is important that the clubs gather earlier, and the players will get the match shape. On April 29, we will all start working out options for playing against opponents, each of which has a different game style.

- What will be the schedule of friendly games of the national team?

- We asked UEFA to organize matches for us on the following dates: May 2, 6, 10 and 14. After that, on May 15-16, I plan to give the boys two days off so they can meet with their families. From May 17, when the club's part of the season comes to the end, the first footballers playing abroad will start joining us. Sobol, Kacharaba, Zubkov, Yaremchuk will be among the first to arrive…

Later, the rest of the guys will join, the arrival time of which will also depend on the success of their clubs in the European Cups. In general, I want to emphasize that at this training camp, many players who had a lack of practice in clubs, will have a great chance to compete for a place in the main team of the country.

List of players called from Ukrainian clubs

Goalkeepers: Georgiy Bushchan (Dynamo Kyiv), Andriy Pyatov, Anatolii Trubin (both Shakhtar Donetsk), Dmytro Riznyk (Vorskla Poltava).

Defenders: Oleksandr Karavaev, Illia Zabarnyi, Oleksandr Syrota, Denys Popov (all - Dynamo Kyiv), Mykola Matviyenko, Serhiy Kryvtsov, Viktor Kornienko, Valeriy Bondar, Yukhym Konoplya (all - Shakhtar Donetsk).

Midfielders: Taras Stepanenko, Mykhailo Mudryk (both Shakhtar Donetsk), Serhiy Sydorchuk, Viktor Tsygankov, Mykola Shaparenko, Vitaliy Buyalskyi, Denys Garmash (all Dynamo Kyiv), Serhiy Buletsa (Zorya Luhansk), Oleksandr Pikhalyonok, Oleksiy Gutsulyak (both - SC Dnipro-1).

Forwards: Artem Dovbyk (SC Dnipro-1), Artem Besedin (Dynamo Kyiv).

Oleksandr Hlyvynskyi, spokesman for the national team of Ukraine