Today, on October 14, the Ukrainian women's national team WU-17 will take part in the first qualifying round of the 2024 European Championship in the German city of Duisburg. The first opponent for the blue and yellow team will be the hosts. In addition to them, the group also includes players from Romania and Austria.

"We have enough information about our opponents. Of course, the favorites are the hosts, the Germans, but we plan to give them a fight in the first round. The next opponents will be the Romanians, whom we beat at the UEFA development tournament in May. Their lineup has hardly changed. Our last opponent, the Austrian team, is trying to follow the same style as the hosts. The only thing my players lack compared to their counterparts is playing practice. We will play with what we have; our minimum goal is to stay in Group A because only matches against strong teams allow for faster progress," —said head coach of the Ukrainian women's national team, Serhiy Sapronov.

"I was very worried because we have only three days to prepare. This is my first call-up for the national team and it’s right away for Euro matches — this is a defining moment for me. I hope I can help the team."

The girls welcomed me well, everything suits me. The girls are in a positive mood, with high spirits. Everyone is preparing for the start, although our first opponent is very tough,"— said half-back Anastasiia Migal.

"Training is going great and we're getting ready for the match against Germany. Of course, the group is tough, but we have high goals. We will try to fight hard in every game!"— emphasized defender Alina Savka.

Photo by the press service of the UAF

Ukrainian women's national team WU-17 roster

Goalkeepers: Svitlana Snihur ("Veres" Rivne), Anna Harchenko ("Dynamo" Kyiv), Svitlana Sakno ("Kolos" Kovalivka).

Defenders: Alina Savka ("Vorskla" Poltava), Elizaveta Maslovskaya ("Shakhtar" Donetsk), Mariia Ignatenko, Diana Tkachuk (both — "Ladomir" Volodymyr), Anna Babich, Sophia Verzhnyaik (both — "Yunost" Chernihiv).

Half-backs: Victoria Savkina, Zoria Gladun (both — "Ladomir" Volodymyr), Anastasiia Zhigadlo, Anna Avramenko (both — "Kryvbas" Kryvyi Rih), Mariia Osadcha ("Sisters" Odesa), Anastasiia Migal (DVTK, Hungary), Alessia Osypchuk ("Atalanta", Italy).

Forwards: Olena Martchenyuk ("EMS-Podillya" Vinnytsia), Daria Zaporozhets ("Dynamo" Kyiv), Sophia Kononova ("Ladomir" Volodymyr), Karolina Ruban ("Kryvbas" Kryvyi Rih).

UEFA-2024 (WU-17). First qualifying round. Group A

Group 4

October 14, 2023

Germany — Ukraine (14:00)

Austria — Romania (17:00)

October 17, 2023

Germany — Austria (14:00)

Romania — Ukraine (17:00)

October 20, 2023

Romania — Germany (14:00)

Ukraine — Austria (14:00)

All match times are in Kyiv time.

Group A

Group 1: Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Group 2: Poland, Ireland, Norway, Iceland.

Group 3: France, Slovenia, Italy, Scotland.

Group 4: Germany, Romania, Austria, Ukraine.

Group 5: Switzerland, Netherlands, Finland, Bulgaria.

Group 6: England, Belgium, Hungary, Northern Ireland.

Group 7: Sweden, Denmark, Belarus, Greece.

Group B

Group 1: Kosovo, North Macedonia, Georgia, Armenia.

Group 2: Serbia, Israel, Andorra, Latvia.

Group 3: Croatia, Luxembourg, Azerbaijan, Malta.

Group 4: Wales, Faroe Islands, Kazakhstan, Albania.

Group 5: Slovakia, Montenegro, Lithuania.

Group 6: Estonia, Turkey, Moldova.

Teams from Group A that finish in fourth place will continue the season in Group B of the second round. The seeding for the second round will depend on which places teams take in their groups during the first round. Sweden is also participating despite having a direct qualification to the final stage as hosts.

Teams from Group B compete in six groups for promotion to Group A. Winners of the groups and runners-up with the best record against the group winners and third-placed teams will move up to the higher division.