The team's new coach was recently appointed as Dmitry Mykhaylenko. To qualify for the final stage of the European Championship, blue and yellow must secure first place in a group featuring Switzerland, North Macedonia, and Latvia. The host country for this mini-tournament is North Macedonia, with matches taking place in Skopje at Makedonija Gjorce Petrov Stadium and FFM Training Centre.

Defender of the Ukrainian youth team Taras Mykhavko and half-back Danilo Krevsun shared their thoughts on upcoming games.

"The road was tough. After arriving, we had a challenging training session, getting to know each other since some didn't know one another. We are preparing for the match against North Macedonia. There shouldn’t be any problems; I believe everyone is ready and knows why we came here, happy to see each other. We're preparing together for this game.

We came here with one goal in mind—to win and qualify for Euro. So we are training and working hard. Ahead of us are three tough matches because our opponents also aim solely at victory. I think it won't be easy,"— said Taras Mykhavko.

"I'm very happy to come to the team for the first time—it's something new for me. I will do everything within my power for the team. It was a bit tough, but this is our first training session. I believe we have a well-chosen team that can achieve great heights. All opponents are strong; we'll prepare equally for each one. Our goal is to win in this group,"— said Danilo Krevsun.

Composition of the Ukrainian Youth Team U-19

Goalkeepers: Vladyslav Kravec ('Shakhtar' Donetsk), Vladyslav Krapivcov ('Dnipro-1' Dnipropetrovsk), David Fesuk ('Hajduk', Croatia).

Defenders: Oleksiy Huseyev, Taras Mykhavko (both — 'Dynamo' Kyiv), Anton Drozdyk, Maksym Ogarkov (both — 'Shakhtar' Donetsk), Ivan Yermachov ('Wuppertal', Germany), Maxim Striuk ('Hannover 96', Germany).

Half-backs: Danyil Vashchenko ('Oleksandria'), Andriy Matveychuk ('Dynamo' Kyiv), Viktor Tsukanov ('Shakhtar' Donetsk), Maksym Melnychenko, Illia Badenko (both — 'Dnipro-1' Dnipropetrovsk), Hennadii Synchuk ('Metalist' Kharkiv), Danilo Krevsun ('Borussia Dortmund', Germany).

Forwards: Matviy Ponomarenko ('Dynamo' Kyiv), Ramik Gadzhiev ('Dnipro-1' Dnipropetrovsk), Mykhailo Dubrovnyi ('Gent', Belgium), Timur Tutyurov ('Sunderland', England), Kristian Shevchenko ('Watford', England).

Elite Round Schedule for Euro 2024 (U-19) Group 7

March 20, 2024

Switzerland — Latvia (3:00 PM)

North Macedonia — Ukraine (3:00 PM)

March 23, 2024

Switzerland — North Macedonia (3:00 PM)

Ukraine — Latvia (3:00 PM)

March 26, 2024

Ukraine — Switzerland (3:00 PM)

Latvia — North Macedonia (3:00 PM)

All matches start at Kyiv time. 

The draw for the elite round split 28 teams into seven groups, with games taking place in March. Winners of the group stage will join hosts Northern Ireland in the final stage from July 15—28, 2024, which serves as UEFA's qualifier for the 2025 World Cup (U-20).

Euro 2024 (U-19). Elite Round Qualifiers

Group 1: Spain, Austria, Kosovo, Slovenia.

Group 2: Netherlands, Belgium, France, Lithuania.

Group 3: Norway, Israel, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro.

Group 4: Portugal, Denmark, Serbia, Greece.

Group 5: Scotland, Czech Republic, Georgia, Italy.

Group 6: Turkey, Germany, Croatia, Romania.

Group 7: Switzerland, Ukraine, North Macedonia, Latvia.

As a reminder, Ukrainians under Oleksiy Kuznetsov's leadership secured first place in their qualification group.