From August 31 to September 4, the blue-and-yellow will participate in the European qualifier for the 2023 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, which will take place in Catania, Italy. By the draw, our women's team landed in Group B, where they will compete against Spain, Switzerland, and Sweden.

After this, in Cagliari, the Ukrainian women will continue their battle in EuroLiz-2022. They await the second stage of the tournament, where they will play against teams from Italy and Portugal.

About our team's preparation for these important competitions, head coach of Ukraine's women's beach soccer team Yuriy Klimenko spoke.

"We have already started our training camp in Kyiv. We are working with the girls every other day, although not yet in full strength. Currently, six players are participating in the camp, but they are gradually joining up. Just two days ago, Anastasiia Kliapachenko arrived from Poland and immediately joined the training sessions. On Tuesday-Wednesday, we expect four more team members to join us. And before the bronze final of Ukraine's first division men's championship on Sunday, we plan to play a friendly match against a second or first league Kiev championship team in Hydropark.

From Tuesday onwards, we will start a five-day microcycle aimed at direct preparation for the tournaments in Sicily and Sardinia. We will train daily. In addition, we have two friendly matches planned. On August 28, we depart for Italy where we will conduct one more training session, and on the 31st, our first match against Switzerland.

Unfortunately, not everything is ideal with injuries in our team. Anastasiia Kliapachenko arrived with a minor injury and has started training in a reduced mode while continuing her treatment. Mariia Kramna has a broken finger but fortunately is recovering quickly and also works with the team. After the World Cup, Maria Tikhonova was found to have a serious leg fracture; she only had her cast removed today. When she arrives in Kyiv, we will assess the situation and decide if Maria can help the national team in Italy. Elena Kyrilchuk and Snejana Volovenko are also in recovery mode.

As for the final composition of our team, it has not yet been determined as of today. Some girls have not yet been released by their clubs, meaning two or three positions remain vacant at this point. Nevertheless, next week we will definitely include 10-11 players in the team. The most problematic position is the goalkeeper, who will likely join us already in Italy."

Schedule for the Qualifier to 2023 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. Women's Group B

August 31. Sweden — Spain. 10:45 AM

August 31. Switzerland — Ukraine. 1:15 PM

September 1. Switzerland — Sweden. 1:15 PM

September 1. Spain — Ukraine. 4:00 PM

September 2. Ukraine — Sweden. 10:45 AM

September 2. Spain — Switzerland. 12:00 PM

The start times of the matches are in Kyiv time.