— So far it is known that the tournament will be hosted by Bulgaria and will take place in the first half of March next year, — said our team's head coach Sergei Sapronov in a comment to the official website of the UAF. — I can also inform you that my wards will face the hosts in their opening match, while the date of this encounter as well as the game against Latvia will be announced shortly.

— Are you satisfied with the draw?

— To be honest, I would have liked to end up in a group with four participants. The matter is that due to Russia's invasion our national team has been deprived of playing practice. Given this situation, we will have to build form directly during the official tournament in Bulgaria. And facing only two opponents leaves no room for error, as it will be extremely difficult to recover from losses. Therefore, every little detail needs to be taken into account. Overall, though, our group has gathered equally strong participants.

— Compared to the first qualifying round which took place in October in Estonia, can you expect any personnel changes in the Ukrainian team?

— Yes, I am counting on six or seven newcomers. Mainly it concerns football players born in 2007. Also, several of my wards did not live up to expectations in Tallinn back in October.

Photo by the press service of the UAF

— Do you rely on any support in the selection process?

— Of course, I will take into account recommendations from club coaches. Also, I am looking forward to progress from those 16-year-old players who are already with us and have potential.

— What are you preparing your wards for?

— For securing the first place which will allow us to return to League A. We will do our utmost for this goal. Perhaps as early as in April 2023, if circumstances permit, we will see another group of young players at the Development Cup in Romania with an eye on participating in the first round of next year's qualification.

EURO-2023 (WU-17). Second Round

In League A, 28 teams will compete in seven groups, including seven national teams that rose from League B after the first round. The seven group winners of the second round in League A (and the best runner-up if Estonia finishes first) will qualify for the final stage, whose matches will take place between May 14 and 26, 2023. Teams finishing fourth in their groups will start the next season's first round in League B.

Teams in League B, including those that dropped out after the autumn phase from League A, will battle for spots in the first round of League A in six groups (two with four participants and four with three). These spots will go to group winners as well as the best second-placed team.

As a reminder, Ukraine's women's national team finished last in their group during the first round and dropped down to League B. According to the draw results, Sergei Sapronov’s wards have landed in Group V6 where they will face Latvia and Bulgaria.

League A

Group A1: Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia, Romania.

Group A2: England, Norway, Belgium, Croatia.

Group A3: Germany, Portugal, Hungary, North Macedonia.

Group A4: Switzerland, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia.

Group A5: Ireland, France, Italy, Kosovo.

Group A6: Spain, Denmark, Serbia, Belarus.

Group A7: Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Wales.

League B

Group V1: Greece, Faroe Islands, Lithuania, Moldova.

Group V2: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Montenegro.

Group V3: Scotland, Israel, Georgia.

Group V4: Iceland, Luxembourg, Albania.

Group V5: Northern Ireland, Turkey, Armenia.

Group V6: Ukraine, Latvia, Bulgaria.