Alexander Kuznetsov: «The guys showed character, it’s important to play at the international level from the first to the last second»

– Congratulations to our fans on the victory, thank you for your support, despite the distance we feel it! The victory was a strong-willed one, we lost the score twice but in the end decided the outcome of the game in our favor. The guys showed character, it is important at the international level to play from the first to the last second, for every part of the field.

Today the opponent was the youth team of Saudi Arabia, they were older, of course physically they looked stronger and faster in the first half, this is due to their age, and the fact that the team gave a lot of strength and energy in the first match with Portugal, but thanks to regular games in the QJ League, the guys have excellent form. We planned a substitutions for the second half, there was an instruction for the players to strengthen their game in attack, and our certain developments, which were successfully implemented by the guys who came on as substitutes. The second half was already better in content, and in the end we achieved victory.

The next match is against the United Arab Emirates, a very serious opponent and it is necessary to prepare for this match, to restore the players. I am grateful to my coaching staff who are doing a tremendous job. The most important thing for us is that the players receive the necessary international experience, we have information based on the results of the game in which components need to be improved. In a word, there is a lot of work, but today we can be happy for the guys and our fans.