Belarus coach defiant over soccer World Cup qualifier against England

The Belarusian national soccer team will do their utmost to beat England in a World Cup qualifier that will take place in Minsk on October 15, head coach Bernd Stange told reporters in the Belarusian capital on Tuesday.

“All my assistants are optimistic and as far as it concerns me, you know that as a coach I’m always optimistic. A realistic attitude does not suit us well today. Because if we are realists, we must admit that England are clear favorites and we are underdogs. But we will do our utmost to produce a super performance in the match,” Mr. Stange said.

The Belarusian squad will fly to Stuttgart on October 8 to prepare for the crucial qualifier. “We know everything about the English side, we have studied the opponents. We count on a packed stadium. We are very proud that there’s a growing enthusiasm in our country – not only fans but also many ordinary people have developed interest in soccer. This positive development is evidence that we are on the right track,” he said.

The coach said that he had reacted to BATE Barysaw’s Champions League exploits by calling up goalkeeper Syarhey Vyaremka, midfielder Ihar Stasevich, defender Syarhey Sasnowski and striker Vital Radzivonaw to the national squad.

Henadz Nyavyhlas, chairman of the Belarusian Football Federation, said that all tickets for the game at the 34,000-seat Dynama Stadium had already been sold out.