Tomorrow the Ukrainian national team will face another test in the Nations League – it will play away against the group leader, the Georgian national team. Former goalkeeper of Metallurg and Shakhtar Donetsk, and now coach Yuri Virt, spoke about expectations from the game, which will take place in Batumi, in an interview with a UA-Football correspondent.
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– How can the Ukrainian national team count on success in the match with Georgia?
– Our team beat the Georgians a month ago, and did it on purpose. The football that the Ukrainian national team showed at their conditionally home arena in Poznan can lead to success. Of course, it won’t be so easy for her tomorrow, because we will play in Georgia. I think that at this match in Batumi there will be a full stadium that will ardently support the home team. But if our players play reliably and disciplinedly in defense, it will not be easy for the leaders of the Georgian national team, including one of the best football players in Europe, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Our guys will need to look for chances in attacks – and they definitely will. So, thanks to these two components, we can count on a positive result in the form of victory.
– Do you think that the factor of the warm support of the temperamental Georgian fans you mentioned cannot affect the mood of the Ukrainian national team players with a minus sign?
– Not really. I am confident that the attitude, dedication and mood of our guys will be at a high level. We have an experienced team that has been constantly playing abroad in recent years. And the players of Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk regularly play matches in the Champions League and Europa League, where games are often played in packed arenas. In Batumi, of course, there will be pressure from the stands, but I am convinced that Sergei Rebrov’s charges will cope with it. I am sure that the atmosphere at the stadium will be truly football-like, cool and friendly. Georgian fans will push their team forward, but at the same time, in such an atmosphere, both teams will enjoy playing. I repeat: we have an experienced team that can cope with the pressure from the stands.
– Lately, Sergei Rebrov has constantly had to reshape his roster due to certain personnel problems – due to injuries or illnesses of his players. Will the absence of several players from the Ukrainian national team affect its potential in the Batumi match?
– More than twenty players are called up to the national team and everyone has a chance to play. Yes, we have injured people or those who for certain reasons cannot come to the national team. But we saw from the previous game that there was a problem in the supporting zone, where Kalyuzhny was first called up. He played at a fairly high, quality level. And everyone now started talking about him as a top player. Therefore, I am confident that Rebrov will find the optimal lineup and all the strongest performers at the moment will take part in the match with the Georgians tomorrow. With the exception of Sych and Yarmolyuk, all the other players have been invited to the national team for many years, and most have been called up to it for many years. Therefore, I believe that those performers who could not come due to injuries or other reasons will find an equivalent replacement.
– In order to claim first place in the group, Ukraine needs to win through the nose. Will this factor become a psychological burden for our team?
– There will be psychological pressure, but I would like to return to what was said above. The Ukrainian national team is an experienced team that knows how to get results. We can remember the play-offs of the qualifying round for the European Championship 2024, when the blue-yellows were also under pressure from the result at the finish line. However, they beat North Macedonia and Malta. That is, our team knows how to cope with the pressure associated with the result. Now it will be interesting to watch the Ukrainian national team, how it will proceed from the situation it finds itself in after two opening defeats. In both October matches, Rebrov’s team played well, gaining four points. And now a key match awaits her, in which our players need to enter the field with a high spirit and play with full dedication, following the coach’s instructions for the game. I think that the guys understand this very well and will work extremely well in the match against Georgia, thanks to which we can count on a good final result.
– Would you risk making a forecast?
– Why? I’ll do it. We are waiting for a tough game with goals scored on both sides. It will be a battle and will end in a productive draw, 1:1.
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