On June 21 in Nyon, Switzerland, the draw for the playoff qualification matches of Euro-2023 (U-21) took place. As a result, the players coached by Ruslan Rotan will face Slovakia's team. The coach of our opponents, Jaroslav Kentoš, shared his thoughts about these matches for the press service of the Slovak Football Association.

"We are facing a strong opponent because every team that made it to the playoffs has good qualities. We will prepare for this two-match series and we have a great desire to qualify for the European Championship. We need to do a detailed analysis of our opponents, and that is what we are focusing on now," said the Slovak coach.

Recalling the last friendly match between the teams in March 2021 at the Antalya Cup, which ended with a score of 3-2 in favor of Slovakia, Jaroslav Kentoš noted: "A lot of time has passed since that game. The Ukrainian U-21 team is a top-class squad, with many players from Donetsk Shakhtar and Kyiv Dynamo. I think this confrontation will have little in common with what happened at the Antalya Cup."

Captain of Slovakia's U-21 team Peter Pekorňi then added: "We need to focus on ourselves first. We know Ukrainian football, we played against this opponent during pre-season preparations, and it was a very difficult match. Then we managed to win 3-2. We also played against Ukraine in friendly matches in other youth categories, so we know their players, among whom there are some very strong performers. Now it's different because these will be official matches for qualification to Euro-2023. If we play with our strongest lineup and as well as we can, then we have the power to beat Ukraine."

The Slovakia U-21 half-back Jan Bernát also shared his expectations about the upcoming matches: "I remember that Antalya match very well. It was a tough game because the Ukrainians were very strong with the ball. We had to wait for our chances and only then could we turn the tide of the game. Losing 0-2, in the end, we won 3-2. Now it will be much harder, and both sides will certainly add more motivation and intensity on the field... We need to give everything because we are fighting for a place at Euro-2023."

Recall that the playoff matches will take place from September 19 to 27 of this year. Our team's first match against Slovakia will be away.

Sixteen teams will participate in the final tournament—the hosts Romania and Georgia, plus fourteen national teams joining them based on qualification results (nine group winners, the best second-placed team, and four playoff winners).

Participants of the Final Tournament: Romania, Georgia, Belgium, England, France, Germany, Portugal, Netherlands, Spain, Norway, Italy, Switzerland.

Euro-2023 (U-21). Qualification. Playoff

Croatia — Denmark

Slovakia — Ukraine

Ireland — Israel

Iceland — Czech Republic

Qualification. Group H

Final Standings

Final Standings of Second-Place Teams

Points earned against teams that finished in sixth place in their groups are not counted.

Playoff: September 19-27, 2022.

Final Tournament: June/July 2023.

The tournament involving sixteen teams will be hosted by four stadiums in Romania (two in Cluj-Napoca and two in Bucharest) and four in Georgia (in Batumi, Poti, and two in Tbilisi). The opening match will take place in Romania, while the final will be held in Georgia.