“Less than a month from now, we will gather at the NTZ. Before the main round of Euro 2023 for youth teams, we will play against Croatia’s national team. In total, our preparatory part in this country will last six days. After that, there is a mini-camp scheduled in Serbia where we will conduct matches from the main round. So, plans are already set. I hope that the boys will maintain their form during this break. This is a very responsible stage for our team. I hope that we will work productively at the camp and do everything to participate again in the final part of the European Championship,” — said goalkeeper coach of Ukraine’s youth national team Oleksiy Sagaidachenko in an interview with the press service of the Ukrainian Handball Federation.
As a reminder, on November 3rd, there was a draw for the preliminary and main rounds of Euro-2023 (U-19) in handball. According to its results, Ukraine’s youth national team landed in Group 2 of the main round, where they will face Romania, Serbia, and the winner of Group C from the preliminary round, which is Montenegro. The mini-tournament will take place from March 22nd to 25th in Vrnjacka Banja, Serbia.
Euro-2023 (U-19) Handball. Main Round Qualification. Group 2
March 22, 2023
Romania — Serbia (5:00 PM)
Ukraine — Montenegro (8:00 PM)
March 23, 2023
Serbia — Montenegro (5:00 PM)
Romania — Ukraine (8:00 PM)
March 25, 2023
Montenegro — Romania (5:00 PM)
Serbia — Ukraine (8:00 PM)
Match times are in Kyiv time.
The venue for the final tournament of Euro-2022/2023 among under-19 boys was designated as Poreč (Croatia). In addition to the hosts, Croatia, seven national teams will participate from September 3rd to 10th. The format of the final tournament remains the same: eight participants will play in two groups of four teams each, with the top two from each group advancing to the semifinals.
The debut European Championship among under-19 boys was held in Rijeka in 2019 and the second edition took place in Hagen in 2022 — both times (2019, 2022) Spain’s team was crowned champion. The second championship was initially planned for 2021 but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ukrainian national team participated in both final tournaments. In 2019, Vitaliy Odegov's wards secured third place in their group, and in 2022 they were stopped in the semifinals.