The coach of the “blue-yellows” spoke to the press on the eve of an important match.
Head coach of the Ukrainian national team Serhiy Rebrov gave a press conference before the match of the last 6th round of the group stage of the League of Nations of the 2024/25 season against Albania.
The answers of the coach of the “blue-yellows” to journalists' questions are given on the official website of the UAF.
It should be noted that Rebrov began the press conference by making a statementabout the mass shelling of Ukrainian cities by Russian occupiers.
– Are there any injured players on your team? Will Vladislav Vanat play?
– The situation is the same as it was. Vanat is currently recovering, we'll see. He came to the national team with a desire to play. We didn't understand how much time he would miss due to injury. He wants and is ready to play for our country. We have another 24 hours, we hope he will be ready to play.
– I remember the 1998 World Cup qualifying matches against Albania, when you scored the winning goals. Do you remember such matches?
– I remember every match for the national team, unfortunately, I don’t remember these goals. Now the Albanian national team has changed a lot. There are a lot of players from Serie A, top championships. It’s difficult to compare these games and the class of the Albanian national team now. They got to the European Championship, where they performed well.
– Viktor Leonenko said that we have leaders of the national team who play well in their clubs, but this is not visible in the national team. Do you agree with this?
– I disagree. We have a very young team, which was the youngest at Euro 2024. Now it is even younger than before. Young players, even if they are leaders, are not stable. For footballers who want to be leaders, it is important to show a stable game in the club and the national team. Now we have a good team with a good balance of young and experienced footballers. In my opinion, this team has a good future. But I always tell the players that football is today. It is not about what you will show tomorrow when you play for the club. You must show your best in the national team. I do not think that our players are not showing their level. At the national team level, we play against the best players from each country. For example, tomorrow we will face Albania, most of whose footballers played at the Euro, play in the top leagues.
The Albania vs. Ukraine match will take place on Tuesday, November 19, at the Air Albania Stadium in Tirana. The starting whistle will sound at 21:45 Kyiv time.
The online text broadcast of the Albania vs. Ukraine match is available on our website.
Ukraine national team in the 2024/25 Nations League: results and standings
The Ukraine national team has already played five matches in the 2024/25 Nations League. Rebrov's team lost to Albania (1:2), lost to the Czech Republic (2:3), beat Georgia (1:0), played drew against the Czech Republic (1:1) and played a draw with Georgia (1:1).
Before the last round, the Ukrainian national team is in last place in its League B group with 5 points, having finally lost its chances for first place and direct access to Division A.
At the same time, the “blue-yellows” continue to claim the second position to get into the playoffs for the right to move up a class. To do this, Ukraine needs to defeat Albania and ensure that the Czech Republic does not lose to Georgia in a parallel match. A defeat by the Albanians will definitely mean relegation to Division C for our team.
Earlier it was reported that the head coach of the Albanian national team, Sylvinho, assessed the tournament situation before the decisive match of the League of Nations against Ukraine.
