“I wish I could bring the best team.”

Ukraine National Team Coach Andrey Shevchenko In the press conference before the game, he shared his expectations of the friendly with the French team.

“We have a very difficult situation. A situation that happened literally the day before departure. Several prominent footballers were injured. We later learned that two Shakhtar players had tested positive for coronavirus. The rest of the Shakhtar players, called up to the national team, were isolated. As far as I know, all of his new tests have been negative. I had to call other players, several from the youth team. We tried to call goalkeeper Pankiv regarding Pyatov’s positive test. Pankiv arrived. But after passing tests in France, two goalkeepers tested positive: Lunin and Pankiv.

The situation is very difficult. But regulations are regulations. We trust the position of the French authorities, medical institutions and medical protocols. As far as I know, the game will be played. Wish I could bring the best team. I respect the French team, I respect their coach. I’d like to bring a combat-ready team that would show good football. Both we and France have two games in the Nations League. We play with Germany and Spain. The next matches are already official. We will try to assemble a team that will be ready for combat tomorrow.

This is an opportunity for young footballers to prove themselves, but this is a great risk, because this is a game with the best team in the world. I would like to bring the best team to show the level of our football.

I can say that we are fulfilling the tasks that were assigned to me. The main task that I set myself was to change the quality of the game of the national team, to bring in a new young generation. We are moving. We have had three positive years. The team had a good qualification for the European Championship, came out on top, showed a good level of football. We try to give young footballers the opportunity to prove themselves. Many of them play in the first team, the team has changed a lot. New tournaments and new challenges await us. The level must be maintained with a good margin. Unfortunately we are out of stock today. There is no way to play for France with the strongest players.

All the players on the French team can be considered very dangerous. France is a very good and balanced team. The center of the recent victories is coach Didier Deschamps. I respect him very much for the work he did.

Will the national team be strengthened before the next matches? We are preparing a list of players who will be tested tomorrow or the day after. We must understand the situation with the Shakhtar players. We will try to repeat the tests quickly. We will fly to Kiev and try to pass the tests as soon as possible to get information about what is happening within the team.

Replacing Stepanenko? We have players in this position. We hope that whoever plays will show a level no worse than Taras, ”said Shevchenko.

The France – Ukraine match will take place at the Stade de France on Wednesday, October 7 at 10:10 p.m. Kyiv.