Oleksandr Kosenko: "Serbia is a strong and technical, well-prepared tactical opponent"

Alexandr Kosenko's wards continue their appearance in the elite round of the 2024 FIFA futsal world championship matches against the Serbian team.

Oleksandr Kosenko: "Serbia is a strong and technical, well-prepared tactical opponent"

Press service photo of AFC

Match 3 of the Serbia vs. Ukraine will take place on October 6 in the city of Vrnjaka and will start at 18:00 local time (19:00 Kyiv time). The match for round 4, Ukraine vs. Serbia, will be held five days later, on October 11, in the Hungarian city of Berettyóújfalu. Kickoff is set for 19:00 Kyiv time.

We remind you that there, in Berettyóújfalu, Ukraine's team lost to Poland in a nominal home match—2-3, and before that they defeated Belgium in Rusdal—10-2.

Head coach of the Ukrainian team, Oleksandr Kosynko, called up 15 players for preparation for these matches. The only change compared to the previous call-up is that Yaroslav Lebid has been included instead of injured Igor Chernyavsky.

Oleksandr Kosynko shared his expectations from the match against Serbia. His words are quoted by the press service of the Ukrainian Handball Federation.

— Can you say what was lacking for our team in the game against Poland?

— I believe that we lacked goal-scoring opportunities and concentration in front of our own goal.

— Did the victory over Belgium with a large score have any negative impact on this game?

— I believe that such victories should only inspire for further games and success.

— Did the loss to Poland affect the overall atmosphere in the team? If so, will it be possible to fix this before the match against Serbia?

— Of course, any defeat affects the team and players, but despite the setback, the atmosphere within the group remains normal, and I hope that we will be fully prepared for the game with Serbia.

— What strong and weak points of the Serbian team did your coaching staff identify at this moment?

— Like any sports team from the Balkans, it is a tough and technically well-prepared opponent, so we need to prepare for a difficult game.

— Can you highlight several players of the Serbian national team who are capable of causing us problems?

— We should respect every player from the opposing side, but in my opinion, Rakic and Lazarevic stand out.

Roster of the Ukrainian Handball National Team

Goalkeepers: Kiryl Tsypun ("Piaszt", Poland), Yuriy Savenko ("Hurricane"), Oleksandr Suchov ("HIT").

Field Players: Oleksandr Pedyas, Daniil Abakshin, Andriy Melnyk, Yevheniy Zhuk (all — "HIT"), Petro Shoturma, Igor Korsun, Artem Farenyuk, Nazar Shved (all — "Hurricane"), Mykhailo Zvarych ("Energy"), Rostyslav Semenchenko, Vladyslav Zavertyanyi (both — Aurora-Clust), Yaroslav Lebid (Eurobus, Poland).

CHS-2024. European Qualification. Elite Round. Group V

September 15, 2023

Belgium — Ukraine — 2-10

Poland — Serbia — 1-2

September 20, 2023

Ukraine — Poland — 2-3

Serbia — Belgium — 3-3

Tournament Table

 

Matches

Wins

Ties

Losses

Goals

Points

1. Serbia

2

1

1

0

5-4

4

2. Poland

2

1

0

1

4-4

3

3. Ukraine

2

1

0

1

12-5

3

4. Belgium

2

0

1

1

5-13

1

October 6, 2023

Poland — Belgium

Serbia — Ukraine

October 11, 2023

Ukraine — Serbia

Belgium — Poland

December 15, 2023

Ukraine — Belgium

Serbia — Poland

December 20, 2023

Belgium — Serbia

Poland — Ukraine

CHS-2024 Handball Qualification. Elite Round in UEFA Zone

Group A: Kazakhstan, Romania, Azerbaijan, Netherlands.

Group V: Ukraine, Poland, Serbia, Belgium.

Group C: Croatia, Slovakia, France, Germany.

Group D: Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Czech Republic.

Group E: Portugal, Georgia, Armenia, Finland.

CHS-2024. European Qualification

Elite Round

Matches: September 11—20, October 2—11, December 11—20, 2023.

Twenty national teams are divided into five groups of four teams each. Matches will be played home and away. Five group winners advance to the CHS-2024. The top four second-place finishers advance to the elite round playoffs. 

Elite Round Playoffs

Drawing: January 25, 2024.

Matches: April 8—17, 2024.

Four teams will be divided into two pairs. Matches will be played home and away. The winners of the pairs advance to CHS-2024.

The World Championship will take place in Uzbekistan from September 14 to October 6, 2024.