Footballer of the Ukrainian national team Vitaly Mykolenko commented on the fans’ dissatisfaction with the team’s latest performances and noted that the team is always under pressure.

The Everton defender gave an interview to the VZBIRNA YouTube channel.

" I won’t say that you should support us. Someone no longer wants to support, pours out a lot of criticism. And that's okay, because after some matches we deserve it. If you can, then cheer for us.

Now the pressure is felt - in the club and the national team. The national team probably has even more, because there is not much time to prepare. Everyone comes to the team in a different condition, there are many injuries. You always feel the pressure. There is less in friendly matches, but it is there because you have to show a good game and win matches.

When you play qualifying matches on which the future, access to the World or European Championship depends, there is a lot of pressure. You represent the country and do your best. Sometimes it doesn’t work out, but that’s life,” said Mikolenko.

Let us remind you that in September the Ukrainian national team played two qualifying matches for the 2026 World Cup. In the first, Sergei Rebrov’s team lost to France (0:2), and in the second, they unexpectedly failed to cope with Azerbaijan (1:1).

On October 10 and 13, the national team will meet Iceland in Reykjavik and Azerbaijan in Krakow, respectively, as part of the 2026 World Cup qualification.

[see_also ids\u003d"

Ukrainian national team in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup: schedule and results of all matches in the group, table.