Ruslan Rotan, acting coach of the Ukrainian national team, answered the questions of journalists before the test match to be played with Brentford, while preparing for the first match of the Euro 2024 qualifiers with England.
Training will take place on March 23, and the match against England on March 26.
About Mudrik: “Mikhail is a talent that will show his full potential. I’m sure he’ll be at the top of the Premier League in a few months. Now motivated, he wants to play at Wembley. This is a diamond, we should value and trust such players. He must feel that he is an important player for the national team and for Chelsea.
About the injury situation: Zabarny will not play for England, he is not ready after his injury. Yarmolenko has an injury, he trains individually. He has time, he has a chance to play. Also, Sidorchuk and Tsygankov got a little sick, but I think in a day everything will be alright.”
About the marijuana situation: “Efim called and said he couldn’t work 100%. I told him to consult the doctors and see if he’s ready to play. He called back and said he wanted to take a break and get better. No problem, we called Miroshnichenko too.”
As for the situation in Ukraine: This match at Wembley is not just a match for players or managers, it is a match for the whole country. And I want to thank the people of Great Britain for helping us fight our enemy. And your support is very important to us, we are very grateful to you. And this match is for our warriors who protect us. We understand that what is happening in Ukraine is very frightening. We must please everyone with the game and the result, give some positive emotions. We are playing with an opponent, in my opinion top 5 in the world. We need to come together and show the result.”
On supporting Ukrainians in London: Here we rely on those who support us. This is important to us. And I ask for a friendly atmosphere at Wembley, even if it’s a struggle on the pitch.
About the atmosphere in the team: “Zinchenko, Mikolenko, Yarmolenko and Zabarny are very professional players who support the country. Someone no longer plays in the Premier League, someone continues to take part in this championship, and these are the team leaders that young players look up to. I hope that in the future Ukrainian players will continue to fill the Premier League squads. It will be very good for the Ukrainian team.”
About Zinchenko’s match at Arsenal: “I believe Zinchenko’s football intelligence has now reached a fantastic level. I like your football. Football becomes incredible when there are thinking players on the field. Alexander made great progress. The more such players, the better for football.”
About whether Mudrik can play in the middle of the offense: “Tomorrow we have a practice match with Brentford, there we will look at important connections and draw conclusions before England. I want to say that anything is possible, Mikhail can play there. He has all the qualities of a striker.”
Attitude of Russia and its rivals to control matches: “Those who agree to play with Russia support what the aggressor country is doing. We need to pay less attention to these countries and this Russia. They don’t deserve any attention. It’s not even worth remembering Russia and these countries playing with them.”
I am a writer at Sportish, where I mainly cover sports news. I’ve also written for The Guardian and ESPN Brasil, and my work has been featured on NBC Sports, SI.com and more. Before working in journalism, I was an athlete: I played football for Colgate University and competed in the US Open Cross Country Championships.
Head coach of the Portuguese national team Roberto Martinez He explained why Cristiano Ronaldo continues to play an important role in the national team.
– There is always a lot of talk around Cristiano Ronaldo. Why does he remain the undisputed starter for the Portuguese national team, even though he will soon be 41?
“It’s all about his attitude towards the profession.” We constantly evaluate three key factors: talent level, accumulated experience and the contribution a player can make to the national team.
Making the highest demands on himself for the benefit of the team allows the captain to maintain his place in the squad. His desire to be the best is passed on to his partners. “The 25 goals he scored in 30 matches as a striker confirms that his play brings tangible benefits to the national team,” he said.
I am a writer at Sportish, where I mainly cover sports news. I’ve also written for The Guardian and ESPN Brasil, and my work has been featured on NBC Sports, SI.com and more. Before working in journalism, I was an athlete: I played football for Colgate University and competed in the US Open Cross Country Championships.
The International Football Federation has confirmed the implementation of the seeding change in the draw procedure for the 2026 World Cup, which has stagnated the seeding system, similar to the one contested on the tennis court. Wimbledon tournaments.
This new system, which has already been tested at the World Club Championship, guarantees that the highest rated teams will be placed at the bottom of the tournament bracket. The aim is to give the bigs the best chance of reaching the final or being accepted before the semi-final.
Under the new principle, the top two ranked teams (Spain and Argentina) will be placed first on the bottom line, and the same principle will apply to the third and fourth teams (France and England).
“To ensure that the two best-ranked teams, once they have won their group, do not compete against each other until the final,” FIFA says.
The new method has the potential to create more balance between teams and ensure that the strongest teams come together in the later stages of growth, as is often the case. Tenis, where the seeding system ensures finals between the nearest gravel types.
Although weaker teams can strengthen their system, this system supports sporting integrity and gives an advantage to the most successful teams. FIFA is committed to competitive balance and will give matches the highest priority to fans.
The draw for the Emergency 2026 group stage will take place on the 5th day and the latest updates on the match schedule and stadiums will be announced the following day.
Thomas Astudillo is a sports journalist and author who writes for Sportish. He has a deep love and knowledge of sports, and is known for his engaging and informative writing on the latest sports news and events.
The International Football Federation has officially decided that teams that qualify for the World Cup through play-off matches (this category currently belongs to Ukraine) will be automatically eliminated up to 4th place.
This means that once someone has successfully qualified for Ukraine, he or she will have an even more complex group, with the 4th group consisting of the weakest rated participants, who are guaranteed to be eliminated to the groups with the strongest teams from the 1st cat.
FIFA has confirmed a major change to the draw procedure, introducing a seeding system similar to that of the Wimbledon tennis tournament.
Change the clicks to ensure that the strongest teams play among themselves in the later stages of development, increasing interest until the final stages of the tournament.
Thomas Astudillo is a sports journalist and author who writes for Sportish. He has a deep love and knowledge of sports, and is known for his engaging and informative writing on the latest sports news and events.
