Head coach of the youth national team of Ukraine U-19 Alexander Petrakov summed up the performance of the team at the tournament in memory of Valery Lobanovsky.

- Alexander Vasilyevich, how do you characterize the gathering of your team?.

- First we wanted to hold one control match abroad. But the response from other associations to our requests did not come. Then it was decided to conduct homework and perform at the memorial of Valery Lobanovsky. This is a huge help to our players in the preparation for the final part of Euro-2018.

- Do lesions give mentors much more information?.

- Certainly. But do not forget that we played against youth teams, two to three years older. I too for the first time found myself in such a situation. In the opening match, against the Israelis, the guys a little bit did not understand that we explained to them. But the second duel inspired hope, again, despite the defeat. I was not disappointed with the actions of my players in the match against Greece. Better to make mistakes in friendly matches than at the European Championships.

- Can you say that you played not the optimal composition, given the absence of some performers because of injuries?.

- Any manager is dreaming about the absence of damage to the players. But I do not want to look for the reasons for the defeats in this. Although, of course, the potential of the national team would increase if we had Lunin, Sukhar and Kashchuk. So in junior teams weak staff potential, for us every football player is very important.

- To the European Championship, which starts on July 16, the team will approach the maximum readiness?.

- I want to believe in it. In any case, after the tournament in memory of Valery Lobanovsky, we talked with football players who allegedly understand responsibility. Although the very entrance to the Euro can be considered a success for Ukraine, considering all the problems in domestic football.

Do you want to learn the main football news first? Subscribe to our channel in Telegram! You can also follow our website in Viber and Twitter.