Dmytro Mykhailenko: "The group we got is absolutely normal"
April 17 saw the draw for the final stage of Euro 2024 (U-19), which placed the Ukraine youth team in Group A alongside Northern Ireland (the host), Norway, and Italy.
Speaking to the UAF press service, head coach Dmytro Mikhaylenko shared his thoughts on the upcoming opponents. The full interview will be available soon on the official UAF YouTube channel.
"There were no nerves before the draw," said Dmytro Mikhaylenko. "It's a good group, a good lineup. Perhaps it's cliché to say there are no weak teams, but it seems to be the case. The group we got is absolutely normal."
"I only watched one team – Italy, when we were preparing for the match against Switzerland. By the way, the Swiss won 1:0. Italy played with a significant advantage but lost. I want to say that everyone is beatable."
"I have experience: as a fan, I attended a match between the U-17 teams of Italy and Ukraine in Cyprus. Italy won, but they didn't have players who were superior to ours. They beat us through tactics, smarter play in the last 25 meters, and very clear actions in their penalty area. But it wasn't a team that had a huge advantage – just ordinary people who pay a lot of attention to tactics."
"As for our other opponents, will they play athletic football? Perhaps Northern Ireland will. As for Norway, those times when they played simple football are gone. Now they're changing their approach at the youth level – playing combination football, though still athletic."
"We've already played against Norwegians, and they showed a very decent level. Many players there play for leading European clubs, even at a young age. They are currently donors to Dutch football, with many performers going to Germany and England. I think they're a very worthy opponent."
Results of the draw for the final tournament of Euro 2024 (U-19):
Group A: Northern Ireland, Norway, Italy, Ukraine.
Group B: Denmark, Turkey, France, Spain.
It's worth noting that on March 26, our team splendidly concluded the elite round of Euro 2024 (U-19) qualification with a victory over Switzerland (3:0). Before that, Dmytro Mikhaylenko's wards defeated North Macedonia (2:0) and Latvia (3:0). The blue-yellows won their group with the maximum points and earned a spot in the final tournament of the European Championship, which will take place from July 15 to 28 in Northern Ireland, with the participation of eight national teams.
The two best teams from each quartet will advance to the semifinals. The final for the main trophy will be held on July 28 at Windsor Park in Belfast. There is no match scheduled for the third place, but the fifth-place match will take place, as Europe will delegate five representatives to the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup, which will be held in Chile with 24 national teams participating. Therefore, the winner of the match between the third-placed teams in the groups will join the four semifinalists. Like the semifinals, it is scheduled for July 25.
It's also worth mentioning that this will be the eighth final tournament for the Ukraine U-19 team in the European Championship. In 2019, Ukraine won gold at the FIFA U-20 World Cup.