Mykolenko and Zabarnyi participated in the first preparatory matches of their clubs

According to glavcom.ua: The English teams 'Everton' and 'Bournemouth', featuring Ukrainian national team defenders Vitalii Mykolenko and Ilia Zabarnyi, held their first in a series of friendly matches in preparation for the 2025/2026 season, reports 'Hlavkom' citing UAF.

Vitalii Mykolenko played the first half in the match at the away stadium 'Iriski' against the 'Accrington' team from the Second Football League, where the teams drew 1:1.

Meanwhile, Ilia Zabarnyi came onto the field after the break in Bournemouth's game against 'Hibernian' from the Scottish elite division, where his team won 2:1.

These two footballers became the first legionnaires of the Ukrainian national team to take the field after the summer break. In another important match, 'Chelsea' defeated PSG 3:0 in the final of the Club World Cup 2025, with Cole Palmer scoring two goals and Joao Pedro adding another in the first half.

In the first friendly match, the preparation of the representatives of the Ukrainian national team in English clubs allowed the players to showcase themselves on the field and contributed to their preparation for the new season.