The head coach of the national football team of Turkmenistan, the Croatian specialist Ante Mishe, spoke in an interview with the Turkmenportal correspondent about the upcoming plans to prepare the national team for the qualification games of the 2022 World Cup.

- Mr. Mishe, you were on vacation. How did it go?

- I had a very good vacation with my family in Croatia. My daughter had a wedding.

- Congratulations!

- Thanks.

- Do you think Turkmenistan was lucky or vice versa unlucky with rivals in qualifying for the 2022 World Cup?

- The draw could be better and worse for us. The group is normal for us. I must admit, the strongest rival in our group is the Republic of Korea. In my opinion, the national teams of Turkmenistan, Lebanon and the DPRK are of the same level. However, Sri Lanka is below the level of all the other teams in the group. We will try to fight for second place.

- Many experts say that the Kyrgyz national team was lucky with the group. I would not want to be in this group instead of Tajikistan? After all, there was such an option.

- No, I would not want the national team of Turkmenistan to be in that group. After all, we know each other very well - both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. For me, our current group is more interesting. It is much more interesting than our neighbors in the region.

- There is little time left before the start of the first qualifying games. Have you made a preparation plan?

- Yes, on August 30 we will go to Dubai (UAE) for a training camp, after which we will fly to Sri Lanka on September 3. We will conduct two pieces of training there on September 3 and 4. And on September 5, with the match against the Sri Lanka national team, we will begin the fight for a ticket to the 2022 World Cup.

- It turns out there is no time for friendlies?

- Yes, there is no time. On August 27, “Altyn Asyr” will play the second leg of the AFC Cup 2019 inter-zonal semi-final against one of the Vietnamese clubs. After that, I will let the guys rest. And then we will go to the training camp in the UAE.

- When will you unveil the list of players who will be preparing for the match against Sri Lanka?

- Not earlier than August 20 - ten days before departure.

- The composition will be different from that played for the team of Uganda?

- We had 23 players in a friendly match against the Uganda team. Perhaps there will be changes, it all depends on the players, on their potential, condition and, of course, injuries.

- Do you plan to involve all Turkmen legionnaires?

- At the moment, we are tracking the game of six football players of Turkmenistan playing in foreign clubs. These are Ruslan Mingazov, Arslanmurad Amanov, Arthur Gevorgyan, Vakhit Orazsahedov, Amir Gurbani and Akhmed Ataev. If football players constantly play in their teams, if they are number one on their team, of course, we will invite them. We will look at their condition, physical condition. At the moment, we plan to call six legionnaires. It will be visible which of them will come.

- So, midfielder Akhmed Atayev, who is playing in the Malaysian championship, are you planning to summon to the national team?

- He has been on the extended list, since May he has been playing at the Sabah club, the winner of the first league in Malaysia, and has constant playing practice. The expanded list also includes players from Turkmen clubs. The playing practice of a football player is important for calling the national team.

- In a recent match for the Turkmenistan Super Cup after injuries on the field as part of Altyn Asyr, attackers Mikhail Titov and Murad Yakshiev went out. How do you rate their game?

- Of course, I am glad to see them on the field after recovery. These are potential players of the Turkmenistan national team. Yakshiev played the full match, Titov replaced. After injuries, they cannot be in perfect condition. I hope they will add from match to match. Murad Yakshiev and Mikhail Titov are on my extended list. We will be very happy if Misha Titov quickly gets in shape, because at the moment we have only two classic center forwards in the team, the so-called “nines” - this is Vakhit Orazsahedov from the Kyrgyz “Dordoy” and Didar Durdyev from “Akhal”. Titov will be the third. I hope everything will be fine with his health. All three claim one position on the field. And Altymurad Annadurdyev and Murad Yakshiev are more flanks forwards.

- Ahead of Altyn Asyr, there are important matches of the interzonal semifinal of the AFC Cup-2019 with one of the Vietnamese teams. Share your expectations for these fights.

- Altyn Asyr is facing an important game. I don’t know much about the level of Vietnamese teams. As you know, Hanoi won the first guest game in the ASEAN AFC Cup final in 2019, and most likely this team will be the rival of Altyn Asyr. I watched the Hanoi statistics. This club lost the last time about 2-3 months ago. It consists of four legionnaires from Senegal, Nigeria, Uganda, and France. It will be an interesting game. Of course, for me, as the head coach of the national team of Turkmenistan, the victory of Altyn Asyr, the victory of Turkmen football will be important. In this confrontation, I consider Altyn Asyr to be more experienced than Hanoi.