Ruslan Rotan: "These two matches in Georgia gave us a lot of information"

Head coach of the Ukraine youth national team Ruslan Rotan summed up the friendly matches in Georgia.

Ruslan Rotan: "These two matches in Georgia gave us a lot of information"

Photo by the press service of the UAF

Ukrainian "youth" completed their November training camp, during which they played friendlies against teams from Israel (1:1) and Georgia (1:1). Head coach of the blue-and-yellow team Ruslan Rotan summed up these matches and shared further plans for preparation ahead of the final stage of Euro 2023 (U-21).

"I consider the friendly match against Georgia to be quite informative and beneficial. We played against a good team that is also preparing for the European Championship."

Overall, these two matches provided us with a lot of information regarding both our immediate reserves and the players getting ready for Euro 2023. We also observed players who will be preparing for the next qualifying cycle. This training camp has become a kind of seed from which a new team is being born while another continues its journey.

Currently, we have 14 debutants. That's very pleasing. It's encouraging that many boys are appearing abroad and playing. As for their trip to Euro 2023, the door is open for all of them. Ahead of us lies a spring training camp, followed by the tournament in summer. All the boys have time to show themselves and they have chances to make it to the European Championship.

On March 27, there's an early agreement regarding an away friendly match against Italians. As for the second match, negotiations are ongoing; we'll decide on a rival around New Year," — said Ruslan Rotan.

We add that according to the draw results of Euro 2023 (U-21), which took place on October 18, Ukraine was placed in Group B, where they will face Romania, Spain and Croatia. Our team will start their journey with a match against Croatia, to be held on June 21 of next year in Bucharest, Romania.

Euro 2023 (U-21). Calendar

Group Stage

Group A: Georgia, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands.

June 21, 2023

Georgia — Portugal 7:00 PM (Tbilisi)

Belgium — Netherlands 7:00 PM (Tbilisi)

June 24, 2023

Georgia — Belgium 7:00 PM (Tbilisi)

Portugal — Netherlands 7:00 PM (Tbilisi)

June 27, 2023

Netherlands — Georgia 7:00 PM (Tbilisi)

Portugal — Belgium 7:00 PM (Tbilisi)

Group B: Romania, Spain, Ukraine, Croatia.

June 21, 2023

Ukraine — Croatia 7:00 PM (Bucharest)

Romania — Spain 9:45 PM (Bucharest)

June 24, 2023

Romania — Ukraine 7:00 PM (Bucharest)

Spain — Croatia 9:45 PM (Bucharest)

June 27, 2023

Croatia — Romania 9:45 PM (Bucharest)

Spain — Ukraine 9:45 PM (Bucharest)

Group C: Czech Republic, England, Germany, Israel.

June 22, 2023

Czech Republic — England 7:00 PM (Batumi)

Germany — Israel 7:00 PM (Kutaisi)

June 25, 2023

Czech Republic — Germany 7:00 PM (Batumi)

England — Israel 7:00 PM (Kutaisi)

June 28, 2023

England — Germany 7:00 PM (Batumi)

Israel — Czech Republic 7:00 PM (Kutaisi)

Group D: Norway, Switzerland, France, Italy.

June 22, 2023

Norway — Switzerland 7:00 PM (Cluj-Napoca)

France — Italy 9:45 PM (Cluj-Napoca)

June 25, 2023

Switzerland — Italy 7:00 PM (Cluj-Napoca)

Norway — France 9:45 PM (Cluj-Napoca)

June 28, 2023

Switzerland — France 9:45 PM (Cluj-Napoca)

Italy — Norway 9:45 PM (Cluj-Napoca)

Quarter-finals

July 1, 2023

A1 — C2 7:00 PM

B1 — D2 10:00 PM

July 2, 2023

C1 — A2 7:00 PM

D1 — B2 10:00 PM

Semifinals

July 5, 2023

Winner of Quarter-final 1 — Winner of Quarter-final 3 7:00 PM

Winner of Quarter-final 2 — Winner of Quarter-final 4 10:00 PM

Final

July 8, 2023

Winner of Semifinal 1 — Winner of Semifinal 2 7:00 PM

All matches start times are in Kyiv time.

The tournament involving sixteen national teams will be held on four stadiums in Romania (two in Cluj-Napoca and two in Bucharest) and four in Georgia (in Batumi, Kutaisi and two in Tbilisi). The opening match of the tournament will take place in Romania, while the final will be played in Georgia.

The three best teams at Euro 2023 (excluding France and England) will receive tickets for the 2024 Olympics.