The head coach of Ukraine's beach soccer team, Mykola Kostenko, analyzed the performance of our national squad at the first stage of qualification for the EuroLeague 2022 Super Final.

From June 30 to July 3, Ukraine's beach soccer team participated in the EuroLeague-2022 qualifying tournament in Nazaré, Portugal. In their first match, they lost to Spain (1:4), and in the second one — Italy (3:5). 

The performance of Ukraine's national team at this stage was summed up by their coach, Mykola Kostenko.

"Of course, two losses are not what we expected. But the level of preparation of the Spanish team impressed me a bit. They have very strong functional players. First, there has been a change in generations; high athletic footballers like Francisco Cassano at 1.90 m appeared. Their second quartet is almost entirely such players. And with this height, they are well coordinated and can shoot 'scissors' beautifully. Second, the Spanish team has two excellent goalkeepers. Both Francisco Duna, who played against Ukraine, and Francisco Camacho, who played in the match against Germany, impressed me greatly. Two equally skilled goalies. The physical condition of their field players is impeccable. 

Due to speed, teamwork, and even form, they were stronger than us at this moment. They have special professional jerseys with sensors that they've been using since last season. Such as those used by leading national teams in regular football. So a person from the scientific research group can immediately see all player statistics on their computer. The most important thing is preparation, training sessions, and friendly matches. The game tone of the Spanish team was completely different from ours. During the match, we adapted somewhat and found some connections, but without the fundamental work done during training camps and friendly tournaments, it was very difficult.

With Italy, things were a bit better — elements of player interaction began to appear. I disagree with some referee decisions during this match. A clean goal that we scored at 1-2 near the end of the second period wasn't awarded to us. The referee was right there and should have seen how the Italian goalkeeper already had the ball over the line. Also, a red card for Dmitry Voytynk was not very objective in my opinion. On replay, it's clearly visible that our player did not touch his opponent's legs, and even if there was a hand to shoulder contact, it was insignificant. Such a foul would barely warrant a yellow card. Also, at 3-4 near the end, we had chances to score in an empty net but unfortunately missed from close range. This is football.

We didn't achieve our goal, but without losses there are no wins. Now we will radically review our preparation so that we can approach the European Games qualification differently. In theory, we still have a chance to compete for EuroLeague gold, but it's very tough. Germany needs to beat Italy, and we must win the last two matches to qualify through goal difference with Italy and Germany if points are equal. This is a possibility, but our main task is to qualify for the European Games.

Currently, we are taking a week off. Then we will analyze the games played in Nazaré. Next week, we'll start training with tactical sessions in recovery mode. We'll have three or four trainings per week. In the morning, the boys will train with the national team and in the evening — at their clubs. They will also participate in the Kiev championship," — said Mykola Kostenko.

We remind you that our team is now preparing for the second stage of qualification for the EuroLeague 2022 Super Final, which takes place in Alghero, Italy. If successful, they will participate in the actual Super Final (September 6-9). The EuroLeague 2022 Super Final also serves as a qualifier for the European Games 2023 to be held in Krakow.

EuroLeague 2022 Beach Soccer. Men's Division A

Group A: Portugal, Switzerland, Poland, France, Estonia.

Group B: Italy, Spain, Ukraine, Germany, Azerbaijan.

01.07. 1st round. Spain — Germany — 8:1

01.07. 1st round. Italy — Azerbaijan — 7:3

02.07. 2nd round. Germany — Azerbaijan — 5:6

02.07. 2nd round. Spain — Ukraine — 4:1

03.07. 3rd round. Spain — Azerbaijan — 6:4

03.07. 3rd round. Italy — Ukraine — 5:3

Tournament Table