The head coach of the Ukraine national team, Serhiy Rebrov, commented on yesterday's draw for the 2026 World Cup qualification playoff round in an interview with TV channel UPL TB, mentioned the decisive match against Iceland and shared some preparation plans for March matches.

— After the draw for the 2026 World Cup qualification playoff round, the head coach of your semifinal opponent, Sweden's Grem Potter, said they had received a great chance to qualify. How do you evaluate this draw?

— I believe it will depend on the condition both teams are in for March matches. Sweden has always had certain problems — injuries, absence of key players. But that applies to us as well. It's very important who is in optimal form.

Of course, we have our chances. The draw turned out this way — we need to accept it and prepare accordingly. We must go into the game with the same emotions as we showed in the match against Iceland. In fact, preparation has already started since we learned of our opponent.

Now there's a lot of work to do: analyzing information, watching Sweden matches, evaluating candidates for the national team. I am pleased that healthy competition has emerged on many positions and it is quite high. In March, those who are in the best shape should play. There's a lot of work ahead.

UEFA chart

— Considering the importance of the match against Sweden, will there be any changes to the UPL calendar? Perhaps you might initiate rescheduling matches?

— We already had experience when we played in the playoffs and then only adjusted the last club round before the call-up. This is something to discuss with the clubs.

Now it's simply impossible for us to gather the national team earlier — we have many players abroad in Europe and America. So at present, we don't plan on rescheduling matches this year or early next.

But I hope everyone understands the importance of these games. Therefore, I think it would be wise to slightly adjust the last round before the match against Sweden for a short gathering. This is just preliminary thinking — we'll see how things develop.

— Potentially, we might have a game against Poland. Our team has already gotten used to playing home games in this country. Have you discussed the possibility of playing against Poland on Polish territory?

— I think that if we and Poland advance, then we definitely won't play with the Polish national team in Poland. This is abnormal.

We only learned of our opponent yesterday, so now we're just starting to discuss where to hold our matches. But I'm practically convinced that this won't be in Poland.

— Both games?

— Yes, because both matches are home. We don't need to constantly travel back and forth. You know how complicated the logistics can be. If we choose a stadium and country, we have to play both games there.

Photo: Dan Balashov

— How do you handle the pressure, Serhiy Stanislavovich? How do you react when things don't go as planned?

— How I handle it? I'm used to it. Valeriy Lobanovskyi taught me this — "Don't read or watch anything." There are many experts, paper experts who know everything. Fans are also experts and always know what to do.

But I have professionals with whom I communicate. For example, Mykola Pavlov, Leonid Burjak. It was very nice for me that after the match my coach — Volodymyr Muntian — called me. He congratulated us even though I know his condition is quite serious right now. This was very emotional for me and I am grateful to him.

I'm not in my first year as a coach. And I've already said at press conferences that I don't know any national team coach who hasn't been criticized. When you win — everything is fine. Make a mistake — immediately advice starts pouring in. I've long since gotten used to this.

You need to focus on your work and results. For the national team of Ukraine, as well as for top clubs where I worked, results are the most important thing. You have to concentrate on that.

Photo: Dan Balashov

— After Iceland, there were a lot of emotions. Did you watch the match? Perhaps did you notice any moments or players who weren't highlighted after the game?

— You know, what surprised me was that there wasn't a single player who could have been left out of the lineup. Often there's a leader, someone who leads the team. But here — everyone maintained their level.

There were many players pulling the team forward, but most importantly — no one let down.

I watched the match and I think we made a lot of mistakes. But what's most important — the players' desire to win. We pressed in some parts, not as effectively elsewhere, but there was immense determination.

At the end of the match we scored two very important goals. But I always say: if you score at the end, it's because you've worked hard throughout the game.

After scoring the first goal, we focused more on defense but Iceland forced us to sit deeper as they wanted to play out from the back. We worked on counterattacks but I didn't see any drop in intensity after 1-0. There was no instruction to retreat. On the contrary — we attacked and scored a second goal.

And it's very important that the intensity remained high after scoring the first goal.

Photo: Dan Balashov

— Anatoliy Trubin's incredible save during the 0-0 draw. How did you experience this moment? And have you talked about it with Anatoliy after the match?

— To be honest, from my vantage point I didn't see the actual save — there were too many players in front of me. All I saw was the shot and how the ball flew out after the save. When I reviewed the episode later, I understood it was a key moment in the game. But we played against a very strong opponent. If you look at their two matches against France — they looked very solid. So we can't just think we can simply walk out and beat everyone. We can only beat anyone if we play to our maximum, with intensity. Without it, results are hard to predict. In this match, there was intensity, chances created in the opponent's half, which is normal. But we won — and deservedly so.

Photo: Dan Balashov

— Oleksiy Hushchyn has become the most goal-scoring player in this selection according to the "goal+assist" system. But at his club, he doesn't always get much playing time. What is your faith based on?

— First of all, you see that in this selection we had many problems with wingers. We lost Mudryk and couldn't use him. And it was Oleksiy who became the leader of the attack. I know his qualities. At the club — there's their own competition, their own coach, their own playing style.

But in the national team, I see Oleksiy working at maximum capacity. He doesn't shy away from taking responsibility on the ball — this is very important. In Ukraine, unfortunately, there aren't many players who are willing to do something special, dribble past defenders or take a shot in the final third.

I always say we need to be disciplined defensively and when coming out of defense, but in the final third — you have to take responsibility. Oleksiy is exactly that kind of player. He constantly breaks into the penalty area — which led to his goal against Iceland and an assist recently. He's not afraid of taking unconventional decisions. And at this level, without unconventional goals, there are no goals.

Photo: Dan Balashov

— This calendar year, our center forwards scored only one goal — Vyntra's against Belgium. After that, attackers haven't scored anymore. What is this related to?

— It will come. If you look at Vyntra's work now, what he did was a huge contribution to the team. He tired out defenders and thanks to him we scored late in the game. Yes, everyone wants attackers to score goals. But there are moments when you need to work hard — also in your own club.

In the national team, we don't have time for individual training with forwards every day. Take this call-up: before Iceland and France, we had only one full practice session. The game was a day earlier, some played on Sunday, others on Monday — two days of recovery, and then a match on Thursday. Only one practice.

So it's hard to give individual attention — we focus on tactics, interaction in attack and defense. Yes, we need goals from forwards, and they want that too. But the main thing is work for the team. I'm confident that in future games, forwards will score more.