“I don’t think they’re any better”: Borodyuk on the Polish national team, the role of Lewandowski and the winter break before the joints

- How do you assess the results of the draw for the 2022 World Cup play-offs for the Russian national team?

- An absolutely normal lot.

Firstly, I would like to wish our guys good luck and get to the World Championship.

And we will all cheer and worry about the team.

Secondly, it is important that she properly prepares for the joints, and there is no unnecessary hype around.

Before these meetings, you need to work very efficiently, because they will decide the fate of the last tickets to the primacy of the planet.

And then our players beat Cyprus and Malta and have already decided that they made it there.

If everyone believes in himself before the game in the locker room, then the national team will be able to go through the joints.

- When discussing the strengths of the future rival, everyone unanimously agrees on the role of Robert Lewandowski.

Is he able to single-handedly decide the outcome of the confrontation?

- It makes no sense to single out one person.

Football is a collective game.

Lewandowski is a good striker who is doing great at Bayern.

In the club, he really demonstrates his maximum.

In the national team, the drawing and schemes depend not only on one Robert, but on a whole set of performers who protect its colors.

I do not think that they (the players of the Polish national team. - 

) are somehow better than the guys playing under the flag of Russia.

Therefore, I repeat, it is necessary to prepare in the most serious way.

Everyone should understand: this is perhaps the most important match of his career.

Once the team has a winning spirit, they will be on the right path.

- How big a role will the home pitch factor play in the playoffs?

- This is a very serious advantage.

Playing at home should serve as an additional motivation for Valery Karpin's team.

Without a doubt, we have wonderful fans who will drive the national team forward.

- In December, the RPL will go on a two-month hiatus, while the leading European championships will continue on their way.

Will this fact give the Poles any advantage?

- I don't think it will play a role.

Much will depend on the professional attitude of the candidates themselves to the national team.

The Russians will not simply rest during these months.

They will have to work at the training camp.

Good functional and psychological condition will be of key importance in the joints.

Therefore, the proper level of responsibility on the part of the players is so important.

- Can Karpin influence the preparatory process of the wards in the clubs?

- He is not in a position to influence, because colleagues have their own programs and plans.

But he has the opportunity to observe how the candidates for the national team work.

Karpin can send his assistants to those countries where the clubs will prepare in winter.

All players must be supervised.

But if the coaching staff has a good understanding with the team coaches, you can get a more detailed picture of individual performers.

Such points are usually discussed in individual conversations.

- Zenit will resume the season in mid-February with matches of 1/16 of the Europa League, Spartak is close to joining Sergei Semak's team, and Lokomotiv has not lost its theoretical chances to continue the campaign on the foreign arena.

Will practice in knockout matches benefit the national teams?

- Without a doubt.

Football players will find the necessary playing tone.

Much will depend on the coordination of the national team's coaching staff and their colleagues in the clubs.

Even if the RPL tour is postponed, the teams will have a normal weekly preparation cycle and extra time.

- How to prepare the national team if some will arrive at its location three or four days later?

- I am sure that the coaching staff of the national team already has a plan, and they will find common ground with the specialists working in the RPL.

They must decide where it is best to collect.

It is necessary to take into account the weather factor, because it is one thing to play in March in Moscow and completely different - in Sochi or Krasnodar.

There is St. Petersburg, where the roof is closed at the stadium.

Everything will depend on the nuances, for example, the location of the joints.

It makes no sense for us to guess.

The plan can be adjusted based on the results of discussions with the Premier League clubs, but I am sure that everyone will meet halfway in order for the Russian team to get to the World Cup.

- As a coach, you have already had to take part in the preparation of the Russian national team for the joints.

What advice would you give to the players and personally to Karpin?

- I'm not going to do this.

I just want to repeat once again how important it is to prepare for the remaining meetings in the most serious way.

When the team comes to the training camp, the players themselves and the members of the coaching staff must clearly understand: this is our last chance, and every effort must be made to solve the problem.

And in the media there should be no unnecessary public relations around football.

Now some will shout: "Oh, the Polish national team, there is Lewandowski."

Others: "Yes, we are lucky!"

And the most important thing is that the children themselves should not read or listen to anything.

It is necessary to discard all unnecessary and not directly related to the game, focus exclusively on the upcoming confrontation.

I always say that you can get the upper hand, or you can give up, but it is important how you did it.

If the team shows great football, and the guys believe in themselves, everything will work out.

If they come out with the same attitude as in the away confrontation with Croatia, it will be very difficult.

Mentality is important.

In any case, I wish the national team to make it to the World Cup.