"I'll help Ural get into the RPL"

The Russian youth national football team for players under the age of 21 held two away friendly matches against Belarus in early October. Ivan Shabarov's team lost 0-2 in Brest, and then drew 1-1 in Minsk. One of the team's leaders was Ilya Ishkov, a 20-year-old midfielder from Ural Yekaterinburg, who made his debut for his hometown club two years ago in the RPL, and is now trying to help him return there from the first league.

So far, the Urals are in fourth place, five points behind the second line, which gives the right to direct entry into the RPL. In an interview with Izvestia, Ishkov shared his impressions of the recent matches of the youth national team and appreciated the results of Ural in the first league.

— How would you rate the last two matches against Belarus?

— It's bad. I think no one in our team is happy with the results of these two games. We scored only one goal, and we lost the first match, which is very bad.

— What do you attribute such results to?

— Probably because there were a lot of new guys in the squad. We haven't fully figured out how to act together on the field yet. But you can't blame bad results on that. Moreover, even in these circumstances, we created good attacking chances. But the implementation let us down: if we had used our moments and rearranged the game a little, we would have won both matches.

— Considering that the Belarusian teams, unlike the Russian ones, continue to play in European tournaments, even if only outside their country, do you feel that this practice gives them an advantage over you?

— Yes, of course. This practice is a definite plus. Moreover, this Belarusian youth team recently drew with Belgium and played with Austria. Playing against different opponents is an invaluable experience. We even felt it for ourselves outside of competitions when we went to Brazil to play with local teams. Plus, Belarusian clubs have European cups, which also adds to the experience of their youth. You get used to this level, you get more motivation. And it's clear from our matches with the Belarusians that their guys are fighting.

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— So the matches with Belarusians are a worthy alternative to trips to South America?

- of course. This is a comparable level. The Belarusians have a very good national team. Yes, it's interesting to fly to Brazil, Uruguay or Colombia, to see how everything works there. But it is also important to play with European national teams. And among them, Belarus is one of the few countries we have the opportunity to play with.

— How would you rate the newcomers to the team, players born in 2006 and younger, who made their debuts for the Russian youth team in matches against Belarusians?

— Good guys, good football players. We will move on with them. I think they're making progress now. And then we'll see how things turn out.

— Several leaders of the youth team born in 2004, Dmitry Vasiliev, Igor Dmitriev, Maxim Shnaptsev, were not called to the matches with Belarus. Are you ready for the fact that next year, when they will no longer be able to play for your team due to their age, you and other guys born in 2005 will have to take leadership roles?

— To be honest, I'm not thinking about it yet. The coaching staff did not tell us whether these guys would still be called up for the next training camp. So it's too early to speculate about it.

— Are you proud that a large number of players are being called up from Ural to the youth team, which is why your club's first league match against Chelyabinsk, which was supposed to take place on the same days as the matches with the Belarusians, was postponed?

— Yes, we have four players called up from Ural. Therefore, the coaching staff and the club's management asked the FNL to postpone the game. After all, out of 23 players in our team, we are not the only ones who have gone to the youth national team, there are also many injured. Now almost everyone has recovered. But still, there are still losses. Therefore, it was important to reschedule the meeting. So that the whole team can calmly prepare.

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— How would you rate Ural's results over the past season in the first league?

— You always want more. But we are moving from game to game. Now we will work on the mistakes and, I think, we will win even more often.

— Are you surprised by the intense struggle for leadership? Are Spartak (Kostroma) and Chelyabinsk, who played in the second league back in the spring, fighting at the top?

—No, not really. Why should I be surprised? Basically, last season there was the same tight fight in the first round.

— Will this continue until the end of the season? Or will the class of "Torch" and "Ural" affect the distance?

— We will watch. It's hard to say right now.

— But do you feel that Ural is ready to return to the RPL?

— We are working on it. We are doing everything to ensure that Ural finishes the championship in first place and returns to the Premier League.

— A year and a half ago, after Ural's relegation to the first league, you probably could have had options to join the RPL club. Was it important to stay in Yekaterinburg at least until his return to the elite?

- of course. We talked with the club's management and personally with the president of Ural, Grigory Viktorovich Ivanov. I want to return my hometown to the Premier League. We will try to do this. I think I'll help Ural get into the RPL.