Kashchuk: It’s a great honour to represent Shakhtar in Ukraine national team
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
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Shakhtar midfielder Oleksii Kashchuk became the hero of Ukraine U17 in the European championship elite round
His brace in yesterday’s game against Austria has helped the Blue-and-Yellows to claim a 2-1 win and qualify for the 2017 UEFA U17 European Championship that will take place in Croatia this coming May.
In the exclusive interview to shakhtar.com, Shakhtar forward shared his impression of the elite round games, told about the most important goals in his career and outlined the objectives for the 2017 UEFA U17 European Championship.
– Oleksii, congratulations on your successful performance in the elite round and on qualifying for the European championship. What emotions did you experience after the victory?
– All of us are very happy and delighted! After all, you don’t claim the right to take part in the European championship every day. Yesterday I experienced some really strong emotions, it’s even difficult to express them in words. All matches were tough and tense, as we got some top teams as our rivals in the elite round. So much more enjoyable was beating them and advancing to the Euro for us!
– You’ve become man of the match against Austria. Tell us about it. Have the goals against the Austrians been the most important in your career so far?
– Probably, those are really my major goals for now – they have enabled us to advance from the group. The first half turned out tough for our team, we operated more defensively. However, after conceding a goal there was nothing for us but to charge forward. We attacked a lot, then equalised, felt more confident and scored the winner in injury time. We gave our all in this match and, I reckon, we’ve deserved to be among Europe’s top 16 sides.
– Are you thinking about what you’d like to achieve in the European championship? Have the national team set any objectives for the tournament?
– We haven’t thought about it yet. Probably, when we gather together before the Euro, the coach will announce the goals for the tournament. By that moment we will know our opponents and it will be possible to plan something. Our objective is doing our all and striving to win. We’ll try to advance in the European championship as far as possible.
– Will your emotions after this success help you in the Ukrainian League meetings?
– Of course they will, after that experience our emotions are the most positive, ensuring our positive attitude to the nearest games. Because in the national team I fought not only for the country, I also represented Shakhtar Donetsk. That’s a great honour and strong motivation for me!
In the exclusive interview to shakhtar.com, Shakhtar forward shared his impression of the elite round games, told about the most important goals in his career and outlined the objectives for the 2017 UEFA U17 European Championship.
– Oleksii, congratulations on your successful performance in the elite round and on qualifying for the European championship. What emotions did you experience after the victory?
– All of us are very happy and delighted! After all, you don’t claim the right to take part in the European championship every day. Yesterday I experienced some really strong emotions, it’s even difficult to express them in words. All matches were tough and tense, as we got some top teams as our rivals in the elite round. So much more enjoyable was beating them and advancing to the Euro for us!
– You’ve become man of the match against Austria. Tell us about it. Have the goals against the Austrians been the most important in your career so far?
– Probably, those are really my major goals for now – they have enabled us to advance from the group. The first half turned out tough for our team, we operated more defensively. However, after conceding a goal there was nothing for us but to charge forward. We attacked a lot, then equalised, felt more confident and scored the winner in injury time. We gave our all in this match and, I reckon, we’ve deserved to be among Europe’s top 16 sides.
– Are you thinking about what you’d like to achieve in the European championship? Have the national team set any objectives for the tournament?
– We haven’t thought about it yet. Probably, when we gather together before the Euro, the coach will announce the goals for the tournament. By that moment we will know our opponents and it will be possible to plan something. Our objective is doing our all and striving to win. We’ll try to advance in the European championship as far as possible.
– Will your emotions after this success help you in the Ukrainian League meetings?
– Of course they will, after that experience our emotions are the most positive, ensuring our positive attitude to the nearest games. Because in the national team I fought not only for the country, I also represented Shakhtar Donetsk. That’s a great honour and strong motivation for me!