A PHOTO. The mood is positive. Open Day of the national team of Ukraine in Slovenia

Friday, May 6 at the camp Ukraine national team It was a clear day for the media in Slovenia.

The desire to see with their own eyes how Ukrainians are forced to prepare abroad for the World Cup play-off matches was expressed by representatives of about 20 editorial offices from Slovenia, Great Britain and Germany. A press conference was held with the participation of the head coach of the yellow-dark blue team. Alexandra Petrakova and experienced team player Taras Stepanenko. Since Taras was fluent in English, a somewhat unusual situation arose: There were little more questions for the football player than for a mentor.

20 out of 23 performers from the home country team took part in the open training. True, the other two were on the field, but they did the exercises separately. Victor Tsygankov He continues the rehabilitation process after the adductor muscle injury taken at the club 10 days ago and Mihail Mudrik currently at the final stage of individual training, which in the coming days will allow the first player of the national team to participate in the general training process. Meanwhile Alexey GutsulyakHaving felt pain in her knee the day before, she went with a doctor to do an MRI scan to help diagnose the problem.

The 20 players of the national team continued to improve their passing and ball control techniques, which had to be reinstated due to the long hiatus from official matches. At the final stage, the training of artists was divided into two groups – collections game serieswhich traditionally significantly increases the competitive effect. While the minimum advantage of one of the teams remained until the final whistle, the other team attacked the opponent’s goal on top of the attack. In the end, the score leader managed to catch the attackers on the counterattack and won a two-goal victory (4:2). For some it is moral satisfaction, for others it is an incentive for tomorrow’s training, because any result and game series has the most important task – preparation for the match on June 1.

First Vice President of the UAF Anatoly DemyanenkoHe summed up the first phase of preparations for the blue-yellows in Slovenia, who spent six days with the national team before returning to Ukraine:

“It is very important that the Ukrainian national team has the opportunity to train in excellent football and living conditions. The current military realities in our country are simply unique and even incredible. Of course, it is difficult for players to concentrate only on football when they are constantly at home mentally, constantly checking the news from their relatives in Ukraine. But you can see how hard the head coach and his assistants worked and that energy was transmitted to all the guys. After spending almost a week with the players, I can see how their mentors want to achieve what they are aiming for each day – getting a ticket to Qatar. The dedication, faith and desire of the whole team is felt in the air to give Ukraine this desired result and raise the spirit of the nation. Therefore, in my opinion, everything should fit into one puzzle.

A PHOTO. The mood is positive. Open Day of the national team of Ukraine in Slovenia