The second qualifying stage of the Euro-2022 (WU-19) took place in LIZ A, where Ukraine's women's youth national team secured third place in their group.

Valeriy Palamarchuk, the head coach of Ukraine's women's youth national team, shared his impressions from the team's performance at this prestigious tournament on the official website of the Ukrainian Football Association:

— I believe we deservedly maintained our place in the elite division. This is very important because, by competing with top continental teams, my players progress faster and gain valuable experience.

— Were there no issues with player selection?

— No, I had exactly the players at my disposal whom I expected. The only issue was that we couldn't boast a long bench of substitutes, but fortunately, in Austria, there were no injuries, and we kept all our key players intact.

— Did you have any chances against the tournament favorites, Norway and Austria?

— In the opening match with the Scandinavians, it was unrealistic given how strong our opponents were. As for the home game against Austria, after halftime we managed to put up a fight. Although we conceded by the minimum score, we still secured a strategic advantage over the hosts in the final match against Bulgaria thanks to better goal difference.

— However, you probably didn't prepare your players solely for defense...

— There was no question of that. I instructed my girls to seek opportunities near the opponents' goal while being maximally focused in every game situation. The cost of a mistake could have been too high... Overall, Bulgaria had more possession but there were equal chances for goals. To be fair, the last word might have belonged to the Bulgarians, yet our goalkeeper Kateryna Boklach won the duel with her counterpart who found herself face-to-face with her… Thus, everything ended in a draw.

— What's next?

— Most likely, in October there will be qualifying matches for the final stage of Euro-2023 (WU-19) among girls born in 2004 and 2005. We shouldn't have any issues with team composition since many of my current players are 18 years old… By the way, I would like to thank the hosts for excellent organization and support. Incidentally, representatives from the town of Bad Wimsbach-Niederkappuin, where we played our matches, collected funds which we will donate to one of Kyiv's children’s hospitals.

Euro-2022 (WU-19). Second Qualifying Stage. Group A4

May 10, 2022

Ukraine — Norway — 0:5 

Austria — Bulgaria — 4:0 

May 13, 2022

Norway — Bulgaria — 6:0 

Austria — Ukraine— 1:0

May 16, 2022

Norway — Austria — 1:0

Bulgaria — Ukraine— 0:0

Final Standings

Euro-2022 (WU-19). Final Stage

Seven group winners from the League A, along with tournament host Czech Republic, will participate in the final stage which takes place from June 27 to July 9.

Group A: Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, France.

Group B: Sweden, Norway, England, Germany.