Andriy Shevchenko’s Ukraine assistant Mauro Tassotti spoke ahead of the UEFA EURO 2020 quarter-final with England, but there’s confusion over why Ruslan Malinovskyi isn’t on the bench.
It kicks off at 20.00 UK time at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
Atalanta midfielder Malinovskyi was on the bench for the Round of 16 and it was hoped he’d recover in time to play against England.
However, he is not even in the squad for this huge match, although he did not appear to be injured yesterday.
According to Sky Sport Italia, the issue is partly physical, as his test results in training over the last few days showed he was nowhere near fully fit.
It is still a surprise to see he is not even reserved a spot on the touchline.
Meanwhile, Milan legend Tassotti explains the importance of the home crowd cheering on Ukraine against England.
“It’s emotional for me to come back in this stadium; this is where I made my debut back in the day,” he told EURO2020.com.
“It’s very emotional for us to be here with Ukraine facing a EURO 2020 quarter-final. We have belief, though England are stronger.
“We did well before the tournament started, then had a shaky start to EURO 2020, and have grown a lot since.”