In September, the blue-and-yellow team conducted a friendly tournament in Romanian Chorescu, ahead of preparation for the CS-2024 qualifier, during which they played three matches. First, our boys defeated Moldova (6:1), and then won the Three Nations Cup by beating the same Moldova (7:4) and Romania (3:1).

The head coach of Ukraine's futsal team, Oleksandr Kosenko, summed up these games and talked about the team's future plans. His words are quoted by the press service of the Futsal Association of Ukraine.

— Mr. Oleksandr Petrovych, how would you summarize the friendly matches with Moldova and the match against Romania?

— As in any encounters, there are positive and negative aspects. All three matches turned out to be quite decent. We gained interesting information from their outcomes. We will make appropriate conclusions. First of all, it's good that we played these three matches. The last one was already held under fatigue when Romania's national team played first. Nevertheless, the boys demonstrated character and fighting qualities. At a crucial moment, skill played its role, and the team managed to secure victory. Overall, we received positive impressions.

— Were you surprised by anything from your opponents?

— I liked both opponents' play. It's clear that both Moldova and Romania want to develop. They spend a lot of time on positional attacks, breaking out of pressing, set plays. The teams have experienced and qualified players, as well as young talent.

— A question about the matches with Moldova. It seemed that the first match was relatively easy for Ukraine's national team, while in the second encounter, the opponent tried to close the gap. What is this connected to?

— I wouldn't say that the matches were drastically different from each other. Indeed, the score difference wasn't the same. The opponent had goal-scoring opportunities in both games. With a 3-0 lead in the first match, we expanded our advantage, and the opponent didn't expect a positive result. In contrast, in the second game, the scoreboard was similar, but we gave the opponent a free kick which they converted. Due to fan support, the team pushed forward and quickly scored another goal. That's why the game became more tense. Despite the final scores (6-1 and 7-4 in favor of Ukraine), I liked Moldova. They didn't just defend but also conducted counterattacks effectively, combining well and interacting with each other. It was important for us to face teams that play themselves and allow their opponents to do so.

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— Unlike the matches of old times, Romania's national team had significantly more naturalized players. Did this add more interest to the game against this team?

— Of course, Brazilians are still Brazilians. They only naturalize high-level players. In my opinion, there are indeed strong Brazilian players in Romania's national team. They will play a significant role in this squad. So, it was certainly more interesting. Additionally, young talents were added to the lineup. I enjoyed the game of Istvan Hadnady, who played as a pivot. The match turned out quite tense and until the last minutes, it wasn't clear who would win. It's good that we had such a game before official matches.

— On October 7th and 11th, Ukraine's national team will play group stage matches of the European qualifier for the World Cup-2024. When will preparation for them begin?

— We will host Kosovo and the Netherlands in Latvia. Preparation for these encounters will start on October 3rd.

It should be noted that Ukraine's national futsal team has upcoming home matches of the group stage qualifier for the World Cup-2024, which will take place in Latvia. The match against Kosovo will be held on October 7th in Salaspils city, and against the Netherlands — on October 11th in Jelgava city.

World Cup-2024. European Qualifier. Group Stage. Group 11

September 18, 2022

Netherlands — Kosovo — 2:1

October 7, 2022

Ukraine— Kosovo

October 11, 2022

Ukraine— Netherlands

November 9, 2022

Kosovo — Ukraine

March 3, 2023

Kosovo — Netherlands

March 8, 2023

Netherlands — Ukraine

In the group stage, 36 national teams are divided into 12 groups of three teams each, where matches will take place home and away. The 12 group winners and four best second-placed teams advance to the elite round. The other eight second-placed teams participate in a playoff of the group stage.

World Cup-2024. European Qualifier. Group Stage

Group 1: Spain, Moldova, Cyprus.

Group 2: Georgia, Belgium, Austria.

Group 3: Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Armenia.

Group 4: Portugal, Belarus, Lithuania.

Group 5: Kazakhstan, Slovenia, Montenegro.

Group 6: Azerbaijan, Poland, Greece.

Group 7: Croatia, Hungary, Israel.

Group 8: Finland, Romania, Denmark.

Group 9: Serbia, France, Norway.

Group 10: Italy, North Macedonia, Sweden.

Group 11: Ukraine, Netherlands, Kosovo.

Group 12: Slovakia, Latvia, Germany.

Format

The qualification takes place in five stages: preliminary round (mini-tournaments), group stage (groups with home and away matches), playoff of the group stage (home and away matches), elite round (groups with home and away matches) and playoff of the elite round (home and away matches).

Playoff of the Group Stage

Drawing: March 10, 2023.

Matches: April 10—19, 2023.

Eight teams will be divided into four pairs, matches will take place home and away. The winners advance to the elite round.

Elite Round

Drawing: July 5, 2023.

Matches: will be completed by December 20, 2023.

Twenty national teams will be divided into five groups of four teams each, matches will take place home and away. The five group winners advance to the World Cup-2024. Four best second-placed teams advance to the playoff of the elite round. If the European association is selected for hosting the final tournament, only two best second-placed teams will advance to the playoff of the elite round.

Playoff of the Elite Round

Drawing: January 25, 2024.

Matches: April 8—17, 2024.

Four teams will be divided into two pairs (if only two teams participate in the playoff, a draw will determine the match order), matches will take place home and away. The winners advance to the World Cup-2024.