U-21 national team / Bushi: We want the victory over Ukraine

Albania’s U-21 national team will play tomorrow the friendly match against Ukraine, at the “Szentmarjay Tibor Városi Stadion” in Eger, Hungary, at 15:30.

Ahead of this challenge, the U-21 national team coach, Alban Bushi, praised the team’s preparations and stressed the importance of this match for the group. The red-and-black coach said the team has had the time it needed to prepare for this match.

“We have had enough time to prepare for this very important and strong match for us, almost a week. We have done everything we were asking for,” Bushi said.

The Albania U-21 coach also dwelt on the group of players called up, singling out two of the young talents, Kulla and Huqi, who he said had surprised him positively during the training sessions.

“We had many young players this time, and of a young age. Two of them I want to single out as the future of Albanian football, such as Kulla and Huqi, because they have surprised me in training. I hope that tomorrow they will also get their minutes. Certainly one of them will be in the line-up, while the other may get minutes later,” he said.

Against Ukraine, coach Alban Bushi expects another strong match, despite the fact that Albania beat this opponent in the previous encounter. Bushi stressed that the circumstances are different and that the team must show character on the pitch.

“Ukraine is a strong team. We have said it before. We have played against them and beaten them here, but tomorrow is a completely different match. We are in completely different circumstances,” Bushi said.

As for the objective, the U-21 national team coach stressed that Albania will take to the pitch only for victory.

“Apart from victory, any other result will not make us feel good. Our team always takes to the pitch for victory. There is no discussion; I said a little earlier too that any other result will not make us feel good, a draw just as much, while a defeat is not discussed at all. We have a very strong, compact and solid team. We will show tomorrow that we are a team with character and that never gives up. We have done this in all the matches we have played, but tomorrow we will show it even better on the pitch and we want only victory. The victory has been conveyed to the players and is the only thing demanded of them, but always being a balanced team and always doing the things we do correctly and beautifully. We want to perform well, but of course the result is a very important part of ours that we want to take tomorrow,” Alban Bushi said.