Alexander PETRAKOV: “Before the match I was calm, and then I started to beat”

The head coach of the Ukrainian national team thanked the wards for the victory over Scotland (3:1). However, he noted that the main final of our team will be in four days – in a duel against Wales.

– I was calm the day before the match and when I got to the stadium it started shaking. I want to say that the guys did everything. I would like to thank them, our administrative staff, our trainers, our masseurs and our doctors. This is everyone’s worth, everyone worked for victory, – Petrakov took the floor.

– The match started with attacks from Scotland and tried to take the game into their own hands. Were you ready for this start?

– Yes, we said Scotland is a strong team. The boys knew this, so they controlled the ball and put it down because the Scots play well with their heads. We did all the training like this, we smashed the opponent to the bone. Thanks guys for doing everything we asked for. Working with them is a pleasure.

– At halftime, Scotland reorganized tactically and moved from their five back line-ups to a four-player game. Wasn’t it a surprise?

– At halftime I said: now they will replace Dykes, Christy will come out and they will play 3-4-2-1. So they started playing. We told the guys everything.

– Before Yaremchuk’s goal, Zabarny joined the attack. Is it that situational?

– Yes. But we said to him: “Ilya, there is a gap – go there. don’t be afraid”. He started playing like that, well done.

– Zinchenko said that the Ukrainian team does not have big stars, but in general we have a star team. Do you join?

– We really have a star team. But why don’t we have stars? We have Premier League champions, we have Yarmolenko and Mikolenko – Premier League players. Malinovsky plays in Serie A, there are many good players.

– How will the national team prepare for the Wales match?

“This will be the last for us. I got the masseurs, I told the guys, ‘We need to get better.’ We will train in the evening. Two groups will train. The first group will recover and the second will train.