STEPANENKO: “We have a goal. You have to work hard to achieve this”

Taras Stepanenko talked about how the Ukrainian national team in Slovenia started preparing for the match against Scotland.

“Yesterday after the match with Hajduk we went to the place where the national team is. We are in good shape, an excellent base for the Slovenian national team. We have all the conditions to prepare well. We expect 70 percent of the national team to gather because those who play in European clubs will come later. We will work in a good mood. , there will be many two-time training sessions. We have a goal. You have to work hard to achieve it.

No training can replace the game. It is clear that there is no intensity and mood in friendly matches as in official meetings. But we still played help games, and every fight felt like it got easier, there was an air of play. I think we will look at the friendly matches of the national team normally in order to maximize our conditioning before the Scotland game.

The morning begins with a stream of news throughout the day, in the evening. We always argue, meet with relatives, friends in Ukraine. We are very concerned, we are helping as much as we can. We all believe in our victory.

Everyone is worried, because a rocket can fly to any city, active hostilities continue. Anxiety is always within us because the more our people, the more our country suffers. I think there will be anxiety about how we will win, at least until peace is maintained. I think that in the future we should always be ready, because with such neighbors you need to be very careful and ready for anything.

Military men write to me and other players of the national team. They say: “We are defending the country, we are fighting the aggressor, and please do your best to go to the World Cup.” “Every player who enters the field will do everything to put a smile on the face of the people.”

The match between Scotland and Ukraine will be played on 1 June in Glasgow.