Alexander Petrakov: "Instead of sparring we will hold a full-fledged bilateral game"

The head coach of the national team of Ukraine Oleksandr Petrakov answered the questions of the UAF press service during the training camp in Slovenia.

Apparently, Oleksandr Vasyliovych will no longer be able to hold a sparring match of the final week of preparation for the match with the Scots. Why did this happen?

- Yes, unfortunately, there will be no control game. We could not find an opponent who would come up for training and was ready to play on the dates we needed - May 22-23 or May 26. First of all, I would like to note that UAF together with UEFA carried out, without exaggeration, titanic work on sparring. At a time when the club championships are coming to an end and the national teams have not yet assembled, it is extremely difficult to find a sparring partner who would be suitable for working out the necessary tactical scheme for the game with the Scots. I know that UEFA has offered to play for most of Europe's most famous clubs, but they have refused due to their circumstances. In fact, they agreed on a friendly match on May 26 with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but the Africans refused at the last minute for reasons known only to them.

Were there any other options?

- It was possible to play with two Segunda clubs, but I think that sparring with these teams, with all due respect to them, would not help us, and now go to hot Spain, when you need to play in foggy Albion, plus moving there. here - it's all exhausting… There was an offer from the Lithuanian national team to play a match in them, but on an artificial field, which could hurt us. Malta was ready to play, but on May 27-28, which is too late for us, given the recovery before the match in Scotland. There was another option with Venezuela, but at that time I decided that it would be better to hold a two-way game in which almost all our performers will receive 90 minutes of workload, which is impossible to achieve in any control match. That is, there were options, but for one reason or another they did not suit us. This is my decision as a head coach. 

So, there will be sparring, but internal…

- Yes, now it is more expedient. Let's divide the team into two teams, play in the training center of the Football Association of Slovenia, where we train for more than three weeks, on a field already familiar to us, without unnecessary relocations and climate change. In the current situation, this is the only acceptable option.

Will the responsibilities and settings in the bilateral be the same as in the control match?

- Absolutely. The guys will get 90 minutes of game load, that's what you need now. They are all focused and know what they are preparing for. Of course, sparring with another team was necessary, but, once again, it is very difficult for the team to find an opponent at this time. We are infinitely grateful to UEFA President Alexander Cheferin for giving us the opportunity to prepare in excellent conditions during the difficult times of the war. We are working hard and will approach the game in full readiness.

Oleksandr Hlyvynskyi, spokesman for the national team of Ukraine

List of players of the national team of Ukraine

Goalkeepers: Georgiy Bushchan (Dynamo Kyiv), Andriy Pyatov (Shakhtar Donetsk), Dmytro Riznyk (Vorskla Poltava), Andriy Lunin (Real Madrid, Spain).

Defenders: Oleksandr Karavaev, Illia Zabarnyi, Oleksandr Syrota, Denys Popov (all - Dynamo Kyiv), Mykola Matvienko, Valeriy Bondar (both Shakhtar Donetsk), Vitalii Mykolenko (Everton, England), Eduard Sobol (Club Brugge, Belgium), Taras Kacharaba (Slavia, Czech Republic).

Midfielders: Taras Stepanenko, Mykhailo Mudryk (both Shakhtar Donetsk), Serhiy Sydorchuk, Viktor Tsygankov, Mykola Shaparenko (all Dynamo Kyiv), Oleksandr Pikhalyonok (Dnipro-1), Andriy Yarmolenko (West Ham, England), Oleksandr Zinchenko (Manchester City, England), Ruslan Malinovskyi (Atalanta, Italy), Oleksandr Zubkov (Ferencvaros, Hungary).

Forwards: Artem Dovbyk (SC Dnipro-1), Roman Yaremchuk (Benfica, Portugal), Danylo Sikan (Hansa, Germany).

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