After the match against Iceland in Reykjavik (5:3 in favor of the blue-and-yellow team), head coach of the Ukrainian national team, Serhiy Rebrov, answered journalists' questions.

— Congratulations on the win. The first question is about personnel — how does Georgiy Sudakov feel after being substituted? Also, Anatoliy Trubin also needed medical assistance.

— In that situation when we were down to ten men, it was necessary just to clear the ball, and Anatoliy did that. As for Sudakov — this is a loss for us. I hope he will recover in time for the next game, but at the moment I don't have any information from the doctors.

— Today was an intense match — comment on how events unfolded.

— I think all our matches are very tough. Before each training session, there are many injured players, unfortunately. But I am grateful that today the boys understood for whom they were playing and gave everything on the field. It's always very difficult to play against Iceland. I watched a lot of their games. Especially at home, they play very strongly, giving a lot of fight. And today it was very important to win this battle. You need to look at the statistics, but I believe that the players really gave everything.

After the score became 3-3, we did not try to maintain this result; we pushed forward and worked for a victory.

— Today substitutions were effective: Ocheretnyk's debut goal, Bondarenko's assist, Velentiy's debut...

— You see, we have a young team. Many young players who really deserve to be called up for the national team. Not because they are injured. When they arrive at the training camp, I truly see their great desire. All those you mentioned understand for whom they play and work very hard. And today I was confident in the players who came on as substitutes. They really added to the game. After substitutions there was more intensity from our side. So I congratulate the boys, I congratulate Vlad Velentiy with his first appearance, Artem Bondarenko with his first assist, and Oleh Ocheretnyk with a very important goal.

— What instructions did you give your team after the first quick goal?

— We had to work more intensively and actively. But I think today the Icelandic national team controlled the ball very well. After conceding a goal, they pressed hard and equalized, but we scored two more times after that. We hoped and agreed with the boys to play more intensely, but the opponent did not allow us to do so.

— The return of an experienced player like Ruslan Malinovskiy helped the team not only with goals but also with experience?

— I believe that players like Yarmolenko, Malinovskiy, and Stepanshenko were and are very important for the national team. And now I see that young players need to become leaders. We give them a chance, but time is needed because international matches are top-level games with top players. And here if you don't play at your maximum, it's very difficult to expect results.

— How would you evaluate the support of Ukrainian fans in this match?

— Super. We are very grateful. We felt their support even when the score was 3-3, everyone supported us and it was pleasant. Wherever we play, there is always support from Ukrainians. But we hope to return home and play for our fans in Ukraine.

Recall that the next match of the 2026 World Cup qualifier will be on October 13th against Azerbaijan in Krakow (kick-off at 9:45 PM Kyiv time).