Ahead of the match, players from the blue-and-yellow team shared their thoughts on the upcoming challenge.

Aleksiy Syts (defender): "We are carefully preparing for this game. This is the first game in the history of the Ukrainian Olympic team, and it's great that our first opponent will be such a strong team. Coaches showed us matches between Japan and Argentina as well as Mali. However, we want to play our football, show our character, which is characteristic of the Ukrainian people."

Kiril Fesyun (goalkeeper): "We will be playing against a strong team. Japan is very organized, they have fast players. We are preparing for an interesting game and hope to give our fans positive emotions. They need us now more than ever. This match is important for us as it marks the start of our Olympic preparation."

Alexander Nazarenko (midfielder): "The Japanese team (U-23) is a very strong team. We have watched many matches involving them. The team is well organized, fast and tactically prepared. But we are also ready to show our best football. We want to give positive emotions to the fans of Ukraine."

The match between Japan (U-23) and Ukraine (U-23) will take place on March 25 at Kitakyushu Stadium and will start at 19:15 local time (12:15 Kyiv time).

Composition of the Ukrainian Olympic team

Goalkeepers: Kiril Fesyun ("Kolos" Kovalyovka), Georgiy Yermakov ("Oleksandria").

Defenders: Anton Bol («Zorya» Luhansk), Mar’yam Farina («Metalist 1925» Kharkiv), Roman Dydyk («Rukh» Lviv), Maxim Dychyk («Dynamo» Kyiv), Oleksandr Martinyuk («Oleksandria»), Yegor Mazenko («Shlyonsk», Poland).

Midfielders: Eldar Kuliyev («Zira», Azerbaijan), Ivan Zhelizko («Lechia», Poland), Artem Kulkovskyy, Kirilo Sygeyev, Denis Shostak, Artem Shulyansky (all — «Oleksandria»), Oleksandr Nazarenko («Polska» Zhytomyr), Oleksiy Syts, Oleg Fedor (both — «Rukh» Lviv), Oleksiy Kashchuk («Shakhtar» Donetsk).

Forward: Mykola Kucharievych («Swansea City», Wales).

On March 20, Ukraine learned their opponents for the football tournament at the Olympics-2024. As a fourth seed, they were drawn against Argentina, Morocco and the third team from Asia in Group V. The blue-and-yellow team will play their group matches on July 24, 27, and 30.

Olympics-2024 Men's Football Tournament

Group A: France, USA, winner of the intercontinental play-off, New Zealand.

Group V: Argentina, Morocco, AFC-3, Ukraine.

Group C: AFC-2, Spain, Egypt, Dominican Republic.

Group D: AFC-1, Paraguay, Mali, Israel.

Schedule for Group V

24.07.2024

Argentina — Morocco (16:00, Saint-Étienne)

AFC-3 — Ukraine (20:00, Lyon)

27.07.2024

Argentina — AFC-3 (16:00, Lyon)

Ukraine — Morocco (18:00, Saint-Étienne)

30.07.2024

Ukraine — Argentina (18:00, Lyon)

Morocco — AFC-3 (18:00, Nice)

Match times are in Kyiv time.

The two best teams from Group V will advance to face the top two teams from Group A.

The format of the Olympic tournament is traditional: competition in four groups with four teams each, followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals, a match for third place and a final (September 9, Paris, "Parc des Princes").

As a reminder, last summer, our team achieved an historic success — securing the right to participate in the football tournament at the Olympics for the first time by beating France (3-1) in the quarter-final match of Euro 2023 (U-21) and advancing to the semi-finals. Along with Ukraine, Spain and Israel earned Olympic licenses through the youth Euro 2023.

As of today, 12 participants are already known for the men's football tournament at the 2024 Olympics, which will take place from July 24 to August 9 in seven cities across France: Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Saint-Étienne, Nice and Nantes. According to the rules, players born after January 1, 2001 are eligible to participate. Additionally, each team can include three players who are older than this age.

In total, 16 teams will compete in the tournament: France — as hosts, three from Europe (Ukraine, Spain, Israel), three from Africa (Morocco, Egypt, Mali), three from Asia (to be determined by May 3), two from South America (Paraguay, Argentina), two from CONCACAF (USA, Dominican Republic), one from Oceania (New Zealand), and the winner of a play-off between fourth-placed teams in Africa (Guinea) and Asia.