Here is a transcript of the press conference of the head coach of the Ukrainian national team, Andrea Maldera, before the friendly match against the Polish national team. Video recording of the press conference by this link.

- Congratulations on your appointment. Can you tell us about Oleksandr Romanchuk? He just had a very good season. Why did you call him up and what were your impressions of your first training sessions with him?

- I studied his style of play on video. He had a good season, he played well in defense in different positions. I talked to him, we'll see what we can do together.

- Tomorrow you will make your debut in the Ukrainian national team. What are your feelings, are there any worries and what are your impressions from getting to know the team, from the first training camp? And tell us a little about the personnel situation. We did not see Ruslan Malinovskyi and Andriy Lunin at training in Ukraine, will they join the team?

- I'm not worried, I'm very happy to be here. I wouldn't call it excitement. The gathering went well. Yes, the arrival was quite long, but that's not our alibi. We're happy to be here. Regarding Malinovsky, he will be in Lviv on June 1, he had certain bureaucratic obstacles. And so did Lunin.

- What would you like to say to the fans of the Ukrainian national team before your debut? And who from the Polish national team would you like to have in your team?

- I was very connected to Ukraine. And it is very important to me that Ukrainians are happy thanks to our games. I have always been connected to Ukraine, I hope to see many of our fans tomorrow. I hope that the stadium will be blue and yellow and I will do my best.

Regarding the second question. The Polish national team is very strong, very famous. Your coach played 8 matches, won 5 of them, there were also two draws and one defeat. I would not like to take anyone away from the national team. But we respect it.

- There are friendly matches and the League of Nations ahead. This is not a qualifying cycle for the World Cup or Europe. New names are already knocking on the door of the national team. Is this now a chance for these players to prove themselves, considering that the League of Nations carries much less responsibility than in qualifying for major tournaments?

- Of course, this can be an advantage for us. But the national team is a national team. I would not like to divide matches into friendly or non-friendly. Every match is very important for us. And I hope that we will give the opportunity to young talents to show themselves as soon as possible.

- What aspects of the coaching staff do Taras Stepanenko and Volodymyr Yezerskyi perform?

- I'm trying to create a team within a team now. Both Taras Stepanenko and Volodymyr Yezerskyi know Ukrainian football very well. They have understanding, they help me very well with the players. Taras helps me with certain choices, he sets the players up for the game. And Yezerskyi works more with standard positions. These are very valuable specialists for me.

- You probably didn't see the Champions League final, it will be over soon. Ilya Zabarnyi came on the field for the last minutes. Who are you for? Do you support Ilya? Or maybe you talked to him somehow?

- You know that I worked at Marseille. And the Marseille team is not very friendly with the PSG team. I would be happy, and everyone would be happy for Ilya Zabarny, if he won.

- Have you decided how you will choose the captain? 

- Andriy Yarmolenko will be the captain for tomorrow's game. Then we'll see how it goes. For me, this is not the main problem, because all the players are responsible. Of course, the role of the captain is important. Yarmolenko will be there tomorrow.

- A question about the formation. A lot of central defenders have been called up and there are no nominal right-backs. Will this change the formation to three central defenders or five defenders in total? How do you see the future of the Ukrainian national team in this?

- Yes, of course, we have some problems with the right-back. Maybe we'll play three sometimes, maybe four. We'll see. We'll use different schemes, maybe we'll put Mykolenko on the right, then it will be a surprise for him. (smiles at Mykolenko, who also participated in the press conference - ed. note)

Friendly match schedule

On May 31, the Ukrainian national team will play against the Polish team. The game will start at the Tarczynski Arena Wroclaw (Wroclaw, Poland) at 18:30 PM.

On June 7, the Ukrainian national team will play against the Danish team. The game will start at Odense Stadium (Odense, Denmark) at 19:30 PM.

The Kyiv start time of the matches is indicated.