From October 7 to 13, the Ukrainian women's national team WU-17 will participate in the first qualifying round of the 2023 European Championship in Estonia. In addition to the hosts, our girls will face teams from England and Denmark.

The head coach of the blue-and-yellow team, Serhiy Sapronov, shared details about preparation and goals for this stage:

— It's pleasing that through joint efforts by the Ukrainian Football Federation (UAF) and UEFA, we have managed to organize a three-day training camp in Tallinn followed by participation in the qualifying tournament. This is very important because the last time our team of this age gathered was back in October of last year. Since the main lineup is expected to change, girls had to not only get acquainted but also try to establish playing connections within just a few days. Although there will be a lack of game practice, we will strive to find common ground on the field directly during official matches.

— In your opinion, have all our strongest players of this age made it into the national team?

— We conducted a thorough selection and hope to have included everyone who is best. Now it's important that there are no injuries.

— Upon reviewing the lineup of the Ukrainian women's national team, we noticed that three of your players represent foreign clubs…

— Among our foreign-based players is Marina Ptitsyna, who plays for the renowned German club 'VfL Wolfsburg'. By the way, she not only competes among her peers but also participates in the league for 21-year-olds. Ptitsyna, who can play on the left wing of midfield and as a forward, is the leader of our team.

— Among future opponents, your players are most familiar with the hosts…

— You're right, because it was exactly against Estonian teams that we settled our relations last October in Tallinn, where, after a tough battle — 1:0, we secured qualification to the elite division. However, the main contenders for victory in our group are considered to be players from Denmark and England. We will try to give a good fight to the favorites but most importantly for us is to be stronger than Estonia in the final round and not drop in class.

Lineup of the Ukrainian women's national team WU-17

Goalkeepers: Svitlana Snihur ('Veres' Rivne), Alina Kushnirenko (AFF, Switzerland).

Defenders: Daria Krasnoborodko ('Kolos' Kovalevka), Viktoriya Shevtsova ('Dynamo' Kyiv), Diana Borovska ('EMS-Podillya' Vinnytsia), Lidia Zaborovets, Anastasiya Astakhova (both — 'Shakhtar' Donetsk), Mariya Ignatenko ('Ladomir' Volodymyr), Sofia Verzhnyak ('Yunost' Chernihiv), Sofia Pom'yankovska ('Veres' Rivne).

Midfielders: Nastasiya Kotelchuk ('Ladomir' Volodymyr), Daria Vinogradova, Diana Chornenko (both — 'Panthers' Uman'), Anastasiya Stakhnyk ('Yunost' Chernihiv), Kateryna Yuzva, Anastasiya Grimak (both — 'Ruh' Lviv), Khrystyna Maslovska ('Veres' Rivne).

Forwards: Anna Mirohorodskaya ('Panthers' Uman'), Marina Ptitsyna ('VfL Wolfsburg', Germany), Sofia Skvorcova ('Jihlava', Slovakia).

In League A, 28 teams will compete (including seven that moved up from League B based on the results of the second round of the season-2021/2022, which concluded in spring). They were divided into seven groups. Teams within one group play at a single venue in mini-tournaments format. The teams finishing fourth will continue their season in the second round of League B.

The seeding for the second round will depend on what places teams secure in their respective groups during the first round. Estonia will also participate in the competition, regardless of its direct qualification to the final stage as a host country.

Teams from League B (including those that dropped down from League A in the second round of season-2021/2022) compete for promotion to League A across six groups. The group winners and runners-up with the best record against teams finishing first and third in their respective groups will advance to a higher division.

As a reminder, due to Russia's full-scale aggression and martial law in Ukraine, our team was unable to participate in the second round of qualification for Euro-2022 and formally secured the last, fourth place in their group. However, UEFA's Executive Committee, following Russia's disqualification, issued a decision to retain the Ukrainian women's national team in the elite division. Thus, they entered Pot 3 of League A.

Euro-2023 (WU-17). First qualifying round. Group A6

October 7, 2022

Ukraine — England (14:30)

Denmark — Estonia (18:00)

October 10, 2022

Denmark — Ukraine (14:30)

England — Estonia (18:00)

October 13, 2022

England — Denmark (14:30)

Estonia — Ukraine (14:30)

All match times are in Kyiv time.

Euro-2023 (WU-17). First qualifying round

League A

Group A1: Norway, Hungary, Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Group A2: Spain, Greece, Poland, Belgium.

Group A3: Finland, Austria, Ireland, Northern Ireland.

Group A4: France, Iceland, Italy, Switzerland.

Group A5: Germany, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey.

Group A6: Denmark, England, Ukraine, Estonia.

Group A7: Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Scotland.

League B

Group B1: Belarus, Georgia, Luxembourg, Armenia.

Group B2: Kosovo, Albania, North Macedonia, Moldova.

Group B3: Croatia, Bulgaria, Faroe Islands.

Group B4: Slovakia, Latvia, Azerbaijan.

Group B5: Montenegro, Israel, Wales.

Group B6: Romania, Lithuania, Kazakhstan.