Petrakov sees Ukraine vs Armenia as a 50/50 game

The head coach of the national team of Ukraine, Oleksandr Petrakov, spoke to the media on the eve of the Nations League away match against Armenia.

— In the last match you lost Scotland. Did lack of Zinchenko somehow affect the actions of your team?
— Zinchenko is the leader of the Ukrainian national team, we missed him, but this is football. He called me, told me about the injury, and was disappointed that he would not help. At the moment we do not have five main players. It is a lot for us, but other football players will get the chance.

— What went wrong in the match against the Scots?
— It is very difficult for us to play when three or four players are out. The guys that came out tried really hard, but they're not ready to play at that level yet. We faced a team where everyone plays in the Premier League. I can't say that we were unlucky - this time the opponent beat us. Steve Clarke said the same thing about us after game in June and now I'll say they beat us. The Scots surpassed us in desire to win. Many of our boys were not ready. However, this is the League of Nations - everyone has the right to make a mistake.

— How do you assess your chances in the match against Armenia?
— I watched many matches of the Armenian national team, they have a good coach, a Spanish specialist. The opponent will play at the home stadium. You know we can't play at home now - we always play away. So I consider the chances in tomorrow's game as 50/50.

— Is Mykolenko ready to play?
— We now have 24 performers — three goalkeepers, 21 field players. Sarapiy arrived, Mykolenko is healthy. Everything is fine, everyone is ready.