Ukrainian women began preparing for the final tournament on March 8 in Portugal. Ahead of Euro-2023, blue-and-yellow played two friendlies against the Portuguese in the city of Rio Maior. In the first match, our team lost — 0:7, in the second — 1:6.

Until March 15, blue-and-yellow continued to prepare for the final stage of Euro-2023 in Portugal, after which they traveled to Debrecen, Hungary. The matches of the finals take place at the local "Phoenix Arena." On January 24, the draw took place, according to which Ukraine's opponents in the semifinals are Hungary.

Coach Oleg Shaytanov’s wards made it to the third of three European championships. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian women's futsal team became a bronze medalist at the final tournament of Euro-2022, which took place in Portugal from July 1 to 3 last year. Then, in the match for third place, blue-and-yellow defeated Hungary (2:1), who they are facing again this time in the semifinals.

Photo uefa.com

From the first minutes of the match, Ukrainians took the initiative and began to pressure Torma. Thus, Dubitska set Forsyuk one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but the captain could not score. Later, Titova and Grytsenko missed shots, again Forsyuk hit the post. On the 7th minute, Shulga failed to score from a corner kick, but our girls continued to create chances.

Despite this, Hungary capitalized on their first chance. On the 12th minute, Gorvat intercepted the ball in her own half and broke through the entire field to beat Kislava. Ukrainians quickly equalized — after a corner kick combination, Shulga scored. Before halftime, blue-and-yellow were closer to scoring again, including when Shulga's powerful shot was saved by the post.

Photo uefa.com

In the second half, Ukrainians also had a significant advantage. On the 22nd minute, Shulga hit the post for the second time in the match, but Torma had plenty of work to do. On the 29th minute, Shulga failed to direct the ball into practically empty goal from a difficult position. However, shortly after, Anna made up for it by scoring a brace with an excellent finish following a corner kick.

Just seconds after her second goal, Shulga hit the post again for the third time in the match. Blue-and-yellow continued to control the game, hardly allowing their opponents any chances near Kislava's goal. Near the end of the match, the home team brought on a fifth field player, but apart from Gorvat’s inaccurate shot, they did not make an impact.

In summary, Oleg Shaytanov's wards won 2-1 and for the first time in history advanced to Euro finals. There, they will face Spain, who have won both previous tournaments. The match will take place on Sunday, March 19 (kickoff at 9 PM Kyiv time).

Euro-2023 Women's Futsal

March 17, 2023

Semifinal

Ukraine — Hungary — 2:1 (1:1)

Goals: Shulga (15, 32) — Gorvat (12).

Ukraine: Kislava — Shulga, Grytsenko, Dubitska, Forsyuk (c); Mytropantsa, Teresh, Drozd, Titova, Kyrylchuk, Volovenko, Skibina, Babenko, Dyatel.

Hungary: Torma — Fülepp, Tot, Karchenich, Gorvat; Hargash, Salcayi, Fabian, Folk, Gruber, Ivegesh, Kot, Varga (c), Koh.

Yellow cards: Dubitska (29) — Kot (37).

Spain — Portugal — 3:2 (2:1)

March 19, 2023

Semifinal

Hungary — Portugal (6 PM)

Final

Ukraine — Spain (9 PM)

Match start time is in Kyiv time.