Serhiy Rebrov urges Ukraine to recover from 'cold shower' start at Euro 2024

Ukraine were hammered 3-0 by Romania and risk being eliminated if they also lose to Slovakia, who beat Belgium in their first Group E fixture, making Friday's match in Duesseldorf huge for Rebrov's team. "Everyone knows that we have to play better and with more spirit. The first match was a real cold shower," Rebrov told reporters on the eve of the game.

"We're all responsible for the defeat. The players and me as coach." Arsenal full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko said that he hoped his Ukraine teammates have "learned from that match, both individually and collectively".

"We have a lot of players playing in their first tournament, but remember that we got the same number of points in qualifying as Italy. We're a team to be respected," he said.

"It will be a very difficult match. It's going to be a battle all over the pitch because they're a team that plays well as a unit." Ukraine are bottom of their group, three points behind Slovakia who are level with leaders Romania.