Women's Futsal World Cup 2025. Ukraine opens qualifying tournament with defeat against France

16.10.2024 18:57

Today, on October 16, Ukraine’s women's futsal team began their campaign in the main round of European qualification for the first-ever Women's Futsal World Cup, which will take place in 2025.

Oleh Shaitanov’s squad is placed in Group 3, alongside Czechia (tournament host), Northern Ireland, and France. Today, at the Sportarena Teplice in Teplice, the Blue and Yellows faced off against France.

The first half of the opening period saw a balanced contest, with chances for both teams. In the 7th minute, Ukraine came close to scoring, but Kseniya Hrytsenko's shot hit the crossbar. Just a minute later, the French responded with a goal. Aleksandra Atamanyuk fired a powerful shot, which Viktoriya Kyslova initially saved. Still, Salomé Alberbide reacted first on the rebound, putting France ahead 1:0. Ten minutes later, the French doubled their lead when Atamanyuk fired a long-range shot.

The second half started more optimistically for Ukraine. In the 24th minute, Viktoriya Kyslova launched a vertical pass across the entire court, and Snizhana Volovenko headed the ball into the net — 1:2. Afterward, Ukraine had numerous opportunities to equalize, but France's goalkeeper, Mélody Carré, was exceptional. Moreover, Iryna Dubytska received a red card with just two minutes remaining, leaving Ukraine short-handed for the remainder of the game. The French capitalized on this and scored a third goal through Fiona Bitterlin.

The match ended 3:1 in favor of France. Ukraine’s next game will be tomorrow, October 17, against Northern Ireland.

Women’s Futsal World Cup 2025. Main Round of Qualifying. Group 3

Ukraine — France — 1:3 (0:1)

Goals: Volovenko (24) — Alberbide (8), Atamanyuk (17), Bitterlin (40).

Ukraine: Kyslova — Shulha, Hrytsenko, Dubytska, Forsyuk; Mytrofanska, Terekh, Drozd, Tytova, Volovenko, Kovshyk, Klipachenko, Kostyuk, Burlachenko.

France: Carré — Boissinot, Alberbide, Delorme, Atamaniuk; Papin, Jouan, Violon, Pellegrin, Sy, Conan, Bitterlin, Simaga, Badre Bassem.

Booked: Dubytska (10) — Jouan (25), Delorme (31).

Sent off: Dubytska (38).

Northern Ireland — Czech Republic — 0:6

October 17, 2024

Northern Ireland — Ukraine (17:00)

Czechia — France (20:00)

October 19, 2024

France — Northern Ireland (17:00)

Czechia — Ukraine (20:00)

All match times are Kyiv time.

Women’s Futsal World Cup 2025. European Qualifiers. Format

A total of 25 teams will compete for four World Cup spots in the main and elite rounds. Spain and Portugal have received direct qualification to the elite round.

Main Round (Matches: October 15–19)

The 23 remaining teams have been divided into five groups of four and one group of three. The winners of each group will advance to the elite round.

Before the draw, the 23 teams, including Ukraine, were seeded into four pots based on the UEFA women’s futsal national team rankings.

Women’s Futsal World Cup 2025. Main Round Groups

Group 1: Italy, Croatia, Serbia, Lithuania.

Group 2: Hungary, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Norway.

Group 3: Ukraine, Czechia, Northern Ireland, France.

Group 4: Finland, Slovenia, Moldova, England.

Group 5: Sweden, Belgium, Slovakia, Latvia.

Group 6: Poland, Netherlands, Kazakhstan.

Elite Round (Draw: October 31, Matches: March 18–23, 2025)

Eight teams, including Spain and Portugal, will be divided into two groups of four. The top two teams from each group will advance to the final tournament.

The inaugural Women's Futsal World Cup will be held in 2025, with 16 teams participating. The slots have been allocated as follows: Europe – 4, South America – 3, Asia – 3, Africa – 2, CONCACAF – 2, Oceania – 1, and one slot reserved for the host nation (Philippines).

With the introduction of the Women's Futsal World Cup, UEFA will expand the Women's Futsal EURO to eight teams. The tournament will be held every four years, with the next one scheduled for 2027.

It’s worth noting that Spain has won all three Women's Futsal EURO championships held to date — in 2019, 2022 (postponed from 2021), and 2023. Ukraine’s national team finished fourth, third, and second in these tournaments, respectively.