Main coach of the Ukrainian national futsal team Oleksandr Kosenko shared his expectations from two friendly matches against Portugal, which will take place on December 19 and 21 in Tavira.

— Our next opponent, Portugal, doesn't need any additional introductions. A month ago you called France one of the most attractive teams by style. What compliments can you make to the reigning European champions?

— About France I said that it is, in my opinion, such a gameful, technical, spectacular team that plays for itself and allows others to play as well. Portugal — this is a team that undoubtedly plays for itself, but somewhat doesn't allow others to play. It's more organized, balanced, so it's a very tough opponent. We will have it quite hard.

But it's good that we'll play against such a team. This is an opportunity to test ourselves already before the European Championship — both as a team and individually for each player. I consider these pairings to be very useful.

— About France, they talked about wanting revenge after their bronze final in Euro-2024. However, before the World Cup, we also faced Portugal in a friendly match, albeit at home. Do you expect the Portuguese to particularly 'sink their teeth' into these pairings?

— Considering the French setup, there was very competitive play. It was clear that they were very well prepared to win at home. And so with Portugal — not because it lost to us then. These teams prepare for every match.

We won't take this into account — we are preparing and want to polish our game both in defense and attack. We will try different player combinations and find the most beneficial way to conduct these two matches.

— In our squad, we see a new face again — you called up Illia Pryhodko. I remember that you rewarded him after the final of the Ukrainian Cup as the best player 'of eight'. Then it was already understood that this boy would go far and soon deserve a call-up to the national team?

— Of course, Illia — he is a talented lad. We wanted to invite him at the start of the season but couldn't due to injuries. Now we have this opportunity, and we are delighted to welcome Illia into the squad. From now on, everything will depend on him — from our side, we will help him in any matter and situation.

We expect that he will open up and demonstrate his best qualities. In what he has potential, we are confident, but it will take time. We understand that at first there will be some nervousness, so we won't judge him too harshly. We want to get to know him so that he feels the atmosphere of the national team. The doors of the national team are open for all who play with enthusiasm and desire.

— Unfortunately, one player is out due to injury. We decided to keep Andriy Melnyk now in reserve so that he can fully recover before Euro-2026?

— Yes, this is professional sports, and no one is immune from it. It's a pity that Andriy will miss such games which would have been very useful in terms of experience. But he already participated in matches at this level, so we'll try other combinations. The main thing is for Andriy to recover before the European Championship, so we jointly made the decision to give him time to heal from his injury.

— Being inside the squad, you feel that the team is already impatiently waiting for Euro-2026. To a major tournament — just over a month away. Already some pleasant excitement is emerging?

— No, there's no such excitement. Yes, the European Championship is approaching, but what to be anxious about? We need to prepare. Excitement will come only right before the matches. Now we need to work so that we are 100% ready.

The exclusive live broadcast of friendly matches between the Ukrainian and Portuguese national teams will take place on the MEGOGO media service. Both games can be watched on OTT platforms with 'Sport' subscriptions and in all MEGOPACKs. The live broadcast will also be available on the 'MEGOGO Sport' channel during T2 and cable networks.

The start of both pairings in the city of Tavira — at 21:45 Kyiv time.

Composition of the Ukrainian national futsal team

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