The Ukrainian women's youth team secured first place in their group in Armenia during the first round of qualification for the 2024 UEFA Women’s Under-19 Championship (WU-19) in League L.

Natallia Ignatovich, who is carrying out the duties of head coach of Ukraine's women's youth team, shared her impressions from the matches in Armenia on the official website of the Ukrainian Football Association:

— Unfortunately, there was very little information about our opponents, and all we could do was assess their strengths and weaknesses as we went along during the tournament. By the way, the fact that the Ukrainians defeated their first opponents, Armenia and Luxembourg, with an identical score of 6-0 should not be misleading. They put up a tough fight.

— What helped them take the lead?

— The hosts deserve credit for their efforts, but they had problems with tactical preparation. My players took advantage of this by punishing the Armenians for errors in offside traps after vertical passes.

As for Luxembourg's team, it focused exclusively on defense, and at first, it was difficult to find a way through their defensive fortifications. Things improved when we made adjustments and emphasized flank attacks for our players. The opponents began to struggle to reorganize in time and panicked. They should even be satisfied that the ball only found its way into their net six times.

— Thanks to a better goal difference in the last match against North Macedonia, Ukraine managed to secure a draw...

— Yes, but everything changed when we conceded early on: our defenders couldn't keep up with Selja's pace, and she opened the scoring. However, this only galvanized the girls, who adhered closely to their tactics, trying to finish all combinations with shots from outside the penalty area or through passes. In this style, Ukraine went ahead before halftime. North Macedonia committed a foul on Radionova, and she converted the resulting penalty herself. Shortly after, Radionova assisted Serbuk, who scored again, making it 2-1.

Since the Macedonians continued to rely solely on long passes to set up Selja for shots, our defenders were ready for this and skillfully played offside traps. As a result, there was no chance of them salvaging anything.

— What's next?

— In December, the draw for the second round of qualification for the 2024 UEFA Women’s Under-19 Championship will take place. Ukraine will compete in League A, where opponents will be more experienced. This doesn't scare me. I am satisfied with the players at my disposal in Armenia. If there is any rotation, it will be minimal. Specifically, I expect forward Yevgeniya Belyayeva to return, who missed the games in Armavir due to injury.

UEFA WU-19 2024 Qualification Round 1 League L

Group 4

October 24, 2023

Luxembourg - North Macedonia - 0:4

Ukraine - Armenia - 6:0

October 27, 2023

Ukraine - Luxembourg - 6:0

North Macedonia - Armenia - 6:0

October 30, 2023

North Macedonia - Ukraine - 1:2

Armenia - Luxembourg - 1:0

Final Standings

League A

Group 1: France, Italy, Hungary, Northern Ireland.

Group 2: Czech Republic, England, Greece, Wales.

Group 3: Austria, Denmark, Poland, Montenegro.

Group 4: Germany, Finland, Norway, Israel.

Group 5: Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Turkey.

Group 6: Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Faroe Islands.

Group 7: Iceland, Serbia, Belarus, Scotland.

League B

Group 1: Switzerland, Albania, Lithuania, Cyprus.

Group 2: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein.

Group 3: Slovenia, Kosovo, Azerbaijan, Moldova.

Group 4: Ukraine, North Macedonia, Luxembourg, Armenia.

Group 5: Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia, Georgia.

Group 6: Romania, Slovakia, Kazakhstan.

Teams finishing fourth in their groups in League A will continue into the second round of the competition. The seeding for the second round will depend on which places teams secure in their first-round groups. Based on the results of the second round of League A, seven teams will qualify to join Lithuania in the final stage of Euro 2024.

In League B, 23 teams compete for promotion into six groups. The group winners and runners-up with the best record against first and third-placed teams in their respective groups advance to a higher division. Lithuania also participates despite having an automatic place in the final stage as hosts.