The Ukrainian WU-19 women's national team in Israel secured third place in the group stage of the Euro 2023 qualifying first round, remaining in Group A.

— We played even better than expected — said head coach Valeriy Palamarchuk in a comment to the official website of the UAF. — I hoped that we would compete with the favorites and achieve the necessary result against the hosts, but my wards exceeded expectations by drawing with Austria and narrowly missed out on victory over Germany in extra time...

— By the way, recently, the draw has constantly paired the Ukrainian national team and Austria in the group stage of the European Championship, and only now, in Israel, did our girls manage to avoid a loss…

— Indeed, we lost twice with the same score 0-1 at competitions in the Netherlands and Austria, and only on the third attempt did we finally sign a draw. The wards played tactically soundly, skillfully defended against finding weaknesses on the flanks. Our goalkeeper Kateryna Boklach was also up to par, proving that she is not there by chance as the first-choice keeper of French Grenoble. In my opinion, we deserved the draw with Austria.

— And what prevented the Ukrainian team from avoiding a loss against Germany in the second round?

— It needs to be clarified that key players of the Ukrainian national team play as first-choice at their clubs, but against Austria and Germany they had to defend, and it did not always suffice to skillfully switch positions or reliably defend in counterattacks. And the Germans finally tipped the scales in extra time.

— Is it a surprise that they finished behind Austria?

— I don't think so. Since this was the first qualifying round, Germany fielded players who were one year younger than their counterparts. However, next spring, when the participants of the final stage are determined, I am convinced that the main squad will be involved.

— To remain in the elite division, our girls only needed to avoid a loss against the hosts in the last match…

— I prepared my wards for victory and they played with an offensive mindset. Even when Daria Borisyuk was sent off on the 54th minute for a second yellow card, the Israelis were saved by a crossbar, unfortunately not converting a one-on-one against their goalkeeper. And still, to be fair, it must be said that in extra time the hosts earned the right to a dangerous penalty kick from 18 yards out, but missed…

— Everyone noticed that you used only 15 of your 20 players in three matches in Israel...

— You know, I am not a fan of making substitutions just for the sake of it... Although we did not have a long bench, but one must consider that from the previous qualifying round only eight players remained due to lack of international experience.

— Besides goalkeeper Kateryna Boklach, do you single out anyone else?

— No, because we were a strong team.

— What's next?

— On December 7 the draw for the second qualifying round of Euro 2023 will take place. Then we will find out about our future opponents and who will host the tournament. I am convinced that next spring my wards will not let us down, and over time more opportunities will arise for these footballers to break into the Ukrainian women's national team.

Euro 2023 (WU-19). First Qualifying Round. Group A6

November 8, 2022

Ukraine — Austria — 1:1

Germany — Israel — 5:0

November 11, 2022

Germany — Ukraine — 2:1

Austria — Israel — 3:1

November 14, 2022

Austria — Germany — 2:1

Israel — Ukraine — 0:0

Final Standings

As a reminder, the draw for the second qualifying round of Euro 2023 (WU-19), which will begin on February 7 at 12.00 PM Kyiv time, will determine the group compositions and hosts in both leagues.

In the second qualification round, seven teams will be determined to join Belgium in the final stage of the European Championship for women under-19, as well as teams moving from one league to another. The seeding at the draw for the second qualifying round will be based on the positions that national teams held after the first qualifying round.

In League A, 28 teams will compete, including seven teams promoted from League B following the results of the first qualifying round. Seven group winners in the second qualification round (and the best runner-up if Belgium finishes first in their group) will qualify for the finals, which will take place from July 18 to July 30, 2023. Teams finishing fourth in their groups will start the season-2023/2024 in League B.

Teams in League B, including those relegated after the autumn stage of League A, compete for places in the first round of League A in the next cycle.

Euro 2023 (WU-19)

Results from the First Qualifying Round form the composition of the pots before the draw for the Second Qualifying Round

League A

Group Winners: Spain, Netherlands, Serbia, Denmark, France, Austria, Norway.

Second Teams in Groups: Finland, Sweden, Italy, England, Poland, Germany, Portugal.

Third Teams in Groups: Switzerland, Greece, Hungary, Slovenia, Ireland, Ukraine, Belgium (hosts of the final stage).

Moved Up from League B: Croatia, Romania, Iceland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Belarus, Czech Republic.

League B

Relegated from League A: Scotland, Turkey, Wales, Slovakia, Northern Ireland, Israel, Malta.

Second Teams in Groups: Montenegro, Albania, Faroe Islands, Moldova, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan.

Third Teams in Groups: Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Gibraltar, Georgia, Andorra.

Fourth Teams in Groups: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Liechtenstein.