The head coach of Ukraine's youth team (players born in 2005 or later) Oleh Kuznetsov summed up the team's performance in the Euro-2024 qualification round (U-19).

The Ukrainian youth team finished first in the Euro-2024 qualification round (U-19). Now, the blue and yellow team awaits the elite round, which will take place in spring 2024. The official website of the UAF spoke with our team's head coach Oleh Kuznetsov about the past tournament and future plans.

— Oleg Volodymyrovych, your words that there is no favorite in our group were confirmed. Was it difficult?

— As seen from the result, everyone had a tough time. In Malta, Kosovo, and Slovakia, there were players of a high level. We expected that everyone would lose points, but some more than others. Our qualification group featured a decent level of teams.

— After the victory over Malta, there was an unexpected loss to Kosovo. What caused this?

— Sometimes things don't go as planned. Opportunities were created but not capitalized on, and the opponent had several counterattacks that led to goals due to our individual defensive mistakes.

— Was there a review after such a failure?

— Not really. Everything was according to plan: we analyzed, pointed out the errors. Yes, we talked about the difficult situation, but everything remained in our hands, so no one threw ashes on their head...

— And in the final match, Ukraine didn't miss Slovakia...

— Simply put, in the first half we effectively used two set-pieces and scored another goal. After halftime, the opponent opened up, and we could have scored more but limited ourselves to one goal. In this game, I had no complaints about my players regarding goal-scoring opportunities.

— Who would you highlight based on the tournament results?

— There were mistakes, but overall the team performed evenly. As for new footballers, they didn't disappoint. I am satisfied with their play and attitude.

Photo by the press service of the UAF

Euro-2024 (U-19). Qualification Round. Group 7

November 15, 2023

Ukraine — Malta — 3:1

Kosovo — Slovakia — 1:1

November 18, 2023

Ukraine — Kosovo — 0:4

Slovakia — Malta — 3:0

November 21, 2023

Slovakia — Ukraine — 0:4

Malta — Kosovo — 2:2 

Final Standings

The winners of the top two places in 13 qualifying groups and the best third-place finishers based on results against the first and second teams join Portugal in the elite round of qualification.