Tomorrow, October 12, the Ukrainian youth national team will play their second qualifier match in the Euro-2025 (U-21) tournament — away against the Luxembourg national team.

The Ukrainian youth national team, consisting of players born in 2002 and younger, who are led by Spanish coach Unai Melgosa, started their qualifying cycle on September 12 with a victory in a home match held in Poprad, Slovakia against Northern Ireland — 1:0.

In Group F, besides these two teams, England, Serbia, Azerbaijan and Luxembourg also participate. The Ukrainian team will face the latter in their next match. The game will take place on October 12 at the second largest city of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, at the stadium named after Émile Mayrisch and will start at 19:30 local time (20:30 Kyiv time).

The day before the match, the head coach of the Ukrainian youth national team, Unai Melgosa, answered questions from the press service of the UAF.

— Were you able to call all the players you planned for the October qualifiers? Is anyone missing due to any reason?

— Yes, all footballers we intended to call are here with us. Some of them did not play in their club matches recently due to injuries, but now they are all ready to work.

— What impression did your players make on you in the recent European qualifiers and UPL games? Who specifically stood out?

— They progress from match to match. Some of them play more, others fight for a place in their teams' starting lineups. We need to understand that the Ukrainian championship is a tournament with good potential, even despite the reduced number of foreign players. I hope the Ukrainian youth will take advantage of their opportunities.

— Of course, you have already thoroughly analyzed the opening match against Northern Ireland. What are your main conclusions?

— I think that both against Northern Ireland and Germany, the team did a good job. In both matches, we tried to control the initiative and were not afraid of the ball. Sometimes our decisions were not the best, but the players tried to adapt to the playing style. Perhaps we were not very aggressive in the final third, we need to work on that area. But the players' attitude towards the game was quite good.

— What impression did Luxembourg's team make in their first two games? What are its strong points?

— They have fast players in the attacking line. Yes, against England they defended more and tried to counterattack, but against Northern Ireland they started well, controlled the ball, scored a goal and won. The match against Luxembourg will be tough.

— Would you consider four points (for example, three in Luxembourg and one against England) as a positive harvest in October matches?

— At the moment I am focused on the process. For me it is important that in these matches the team plays better and better. If we improve, there will be results too. All players know that the result is the score on the board, but also an opportunity to progress in the youth national team.

Composition of the Ukrainian Youth National Team

Goalkeepers: Ruslan Nescheret («Dynamo» Kyiv), Yakiv Kinariekyn («Dnipro-1» Dnipropetrovsk), Kiril Fesyun («Kolos» Kalush).

Defenders: Konstantin Vychcharenko («Dynamo» Kyiv), Anton Bol, Arseniy Batagov (both — «Zorya» Luhansk), Mar’iy Farina («Metalist 1925» Kharkiv), Danyil Skorko («Oleksandria»), Artem Smyolyak («Polesye» Zhytomyr), Vitaliy Roman, Roman Dydyk (both — «Rukh» Lviv), Volodymyr Saluyk («Chornomorets» Odesa).

Midfielders: Yegor Yarmoluk («Brentford», England), Vladyslav Brachko, Nazar Voloshyn (both — «Dynamo» Kyiv), Valentyn Rubchinsky («Dnipro-1» Dnipropetrovsk), Oleksandr Yatsyk («Zorya» Luhansk), Illia Kvasnytsya («Rukh» Lviv), Maxim Kucheriyi («St. Johnstone», Scotland), Maxim Bragaru («Chornomorets» Odesa), Oleksandr Ocheretko («Shakhtar» Donetsk).

Forwards: Yegor Gunichev («Minay»), Igor Krasnopir («Obolon» Kyiv), Bohdan Vyunnyk («Shakhtar» Donetsk).

Euro-2025 (U-21). Qualifying Tournament. Group F

September 7, 2023

Northern Ireland — Luxembourg — 0:1

September 11, 2023

Luxembourg — England — 0:3

September 12, 2023

Ukraine — Northern Ireland — 1:0

Serbia — Azerbaijan — 2:0

Tournament Table

October 12, 2023

Azerbaijan — Northern Ireland

Luxembourg — Ukraine

October 13, 2023

England — Serbia

October 16, 2023

Ukraine — England

Northern Ireland — Serbia

October 17, 2023

Azerbaijan — Luxembourg

November 17, 2023

Ukraine — Luxembourg

November 18, 2023

Serbia — England

November 21, 2023

Ukraine — Azerbaijan

England — Northern Ireland

Serbia — Luxembourg

March 22, 2024

Luxembourg — Serbia

Azerbaijan — England

March 26, 2024

England — Luxembourg

Azerbaijan — Ukraine

Serbia — Northern Ireland

September 6, 2024

Luxembourg — Azerbaijan

Northern Ireland — England

Ukraine — Serbia

September 10, 2024

Northern Ireland — Ukraine

Azerbaijan — Serbia

October 11, 2024

England — Ukraine

October 12, 2024

Northern Ireland — Azerbaijan

October 15, 2024

Luxembourg — Northern Ireland

England — Azerbaijan

Serbia — Ukraine

Play-offs: November 11–19, 2024.