Fenerbahçe
Man. United
Lyon
Beşiktaş
E. Frankfurt
Rigas Skola
Ferencvaros
Nice
Karabağ
Ajax
M. Tel Aviv
R. Sociedad
Midtjylland
U.S Gilloise
PAOK
Viktoria Plzen
Roma
Dinamo Kiev
Anderlecht
Ludogorets
Ath. Bilbao
Slavia Prag
Malmö
Olympiakos
Porto
Hoffenheim
Rangers
FCSB
Tottenham
AZ Alkmaar
Twente
Lazio
NK Celje
Başakşehir
Vikingur R.
Cercle Brugge
APOEL
Banja Luka
Djurgarden
V. Guimaraes
Hearts
Omonia
J. Bialystok
Petrocub
KAA Gent
Molde
Larne
Shamrock R.
Panathinaikos
Chelsea
Rapid Wien
Noah
St. Gallen
Fiorentina
HJK Helsinki
Dinamo Minsk
Mlada Boleslav
Lugano
O. Ljubljana
LASK
Pafos
Heidenheim
Real Betis
Kopenhag
The New Saints
Astana
Tsc Backa T.
Legia Varşova
After losing against Montenegro (1-0) and Hungary (3-0), Ilia Gruev and Bulgaria are desperate for a victory against Lithuania (17/6). “This is a good chance for us to make up for the defeats,” explained the 23-year-old, who will then come up against Serbia. “We expect a very good Serbia team and want to put in a good performance. We are definitely well prepared.”
This is despite the fact that many national players have been on holiday for almost two weeks after the end of club competitions. Gruev revealed that during this time he kept fit by spending time in the gym, running and in two training sessions. “You don’t lose that much in 14 days, either,” said the midfielder. “Mentally, it’s a bit more difficult because you have to be completely on it from one day to the next since qualifiers are coming up. But we have managed to do that.”
Romano Schmid, who will face Belgium (17/6) and Sweden (20/6) with Austria, and Jiri Pavlenka, who is coming up against the Faroe Islands (17/6) and Montenegro (20/6, friendly match) with the Czech Republic, are also going into their upcoming round of international fixtures in a similar situation. On Wednesday evening, Naby Keïta played in matchday five of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Egypt in the Stade de Marrakech, which ended in a 2-1 defeat, delaying their qualification for the time being. On Saturday (17/6), Keïta and Guinea will play Brazil in a friendly match in Barcelona.
This is despite the fact that many national players have been on holiday for almost two weeks after the end of club competitions. Gruev revealed that during this time he kept fit by spending time in the gym, running and in two training sessions. “You don’t lose that much in 14 days, either,” said the midfielder. “Mentally, it’s a bit more difficult because you have to be completely on it from one day to the next since qualifiers are coming up. But we have managed to do that.”
Romano Schmid, who will face Belgium (17/6) and Sweden (20/6) with Austria, and Jiri Pavlenka, who is coming up against the Faroe Islands (17/6) and Montenegro (20/6, friendly match) with the Czech Republic, are also going into their upcoming round of international fixtures in a similar situation. On Wednesday evening, Naby Keïta played in matchday five of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Egypt in the Stade de Marrakech, which ended in a 2-1 defeat, delaying their qualification for the time being. On Saturday (17/6), Keïta and Guinea will play Brazil in a friendly match in Barcelona.
