Today in the first match of the small semifinal of EuroLeague-2022, which is taking place in Cagliari, Italy, Ukraine's beach soccer team faced France.

A win in this match secured Coach Mykola Kostenko’s squad a spot at the 2023 European Games in Krakow. 

Our national team immediately took control of the game, and on the fifth minute, Dmytro Medvid scored an impressive shot from long distance to open the scoring. And just before halftime, our goalkeeper Andriy Nerus delivered another spectacular strike—2:0.

However, the start of the second half was dominated by the French team, and Jeremy Bru reduced our lead. The Ukrainian response was swift. Three minutes later, Ivan Gluts’kyi once again extended the gap to two goals, while shortly after Dmitro Voytenko increased it to three. Later on, the teams exchanged goals with Theo Gérin and Andriy Pashko scoring for their respective sides, followed by strikes from Quentin Joslen and Voytenko near the end of the period—6:3 in favor of Ukraine.

The start of the final game segment was completely dominated by the blue-and-yellow team. Initially, Antoni Barbotti helped us with an own goal, followed by Voytenko who completed his hat-trick and Yuri Shcheritsya. The French slightly narrowed the gap thanks to accurate shots from Santos Dias and Joslen. However, Medvid put a period on this productive encounter. In summary, 10:5—victory for Ukraine. 

EuroLeague-2022 Beach Soccer Men's Division A

Matches for 5th–8th place

Ukraine – France – 10:5

Goals: Medvid (5, 33), Nerus (12), Gluts’kyi (16), Voytenko (18, 24, 27), Pashko (20), Barbotti (26, own goal), Shcheritsya (27) – Bru (13), Gérin (20), Joslen (24, 31), Dias (28).

On the 18th minute sent off Basquaz (France).

Ukraine: Nerus, Kovalenko, I. Borsuk, A. Borsuk, Shcheritsya, Medvid, Voytok, Voytenko, Pashko, Zborovs’kyi.

Thus, Ukraine's beach soccer team secured a spot at the 2023 European Games. Tomorrow, Coach Mykola Kostenko’s squad will face the winner of the Poland – Azerbaijan match in the game for 5th–6th place at EuroLeague-2022.