Ukraine U-21 prepares for upcoming friendlies with Portugal and Italy

13.11.2024 15:00

As part of their preparation for the UEFA EURO 2025 U-21 final tournament, the Ukraine U-21 team will play friendly matches against Portugal and Italy.

Photo by Andriy Yushchak

Currently, the team under the guidance of Unai Melgosa is preparing for the matches in the Portuguese town of Alverca do Ribatejo, located in the Lisbon district. The friendly match between Portugal and Ukraine will take place on November 15 at the Alverca Stadium, with a 19:30 kickoff (Kyiv time).

Photo by Andriy Yushchak

The match between Italy and Ukraine will be held in La Spezia on November 19. The game at the Alberto Picco Stadium will start at 19:15 Kyiv time.

Ukraine U-21 Roster

Goalkeepers: Ruslan Neshcheret (Dynamo Kyiv), Heorhiy Yermakov (Oleksandriya), Ivan Pakholyuk (Koloss Kovalivka).

Defenders: Arseniy Batagov (Trabzonspor, Turkey), Roman Didyk, Vitaliy Roman (both - Rukh Lviv), Illia Krupskyi (Vorskla Poltava), Denys Kuzyk (Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih), Eduard Kozik (Kolos Kovalivka), Mykola Oharkov (Shakhtar Donetsk), Oleksiy Husiev (Zorya Luhansk).

Midfielders: Anton Tsarenko, Maksym Khlan (both - Lechia, Poland), Ivan Varfolomeyev (Slovan, Czechia), Maksym Melnychenko (Polissya Zhytomyr), Oleh Ocheretko (Karpaty Lviv), Maksym Bragaru (Dynamo Kyiv), Oleksandr Yatsyk (Zorya Luhansk), Illia Kvasnytsia, Oleh Fedor (both - Rukh Lviv), Vladyslav Veleten (Kolos Kovalivka).

Forwards: Bohdan Vyunnyk (Lechia, Poland), Ihor Krasnopir (Rukh Lviv), Ihor Horbach (Zorya Luhansk).

Photo by Andriy Yushchak

It is worth noting that the Blue and Yellows secured an early qualification for the EURO 2025 (U-21) final tournament, finishing in second place in their qualifying group.

In addition to Ukraine, 12 teams have qualified for the tournament, which will take place from June 11 to 28, 2025, across eight cities (Bratislava, Trnava, Dunajská Streda, Košice, Žilina, Trenčín, Nitra, Prešov), along with the host nation, Slovakia. Three more participants will be determined after the playoff matches, scheduled for November 15 and 19.

The draw for the final tournament, which will feature 16 teams (four groups of four), will take place on December 3 in Bratislava.

EURO 2025 (U-21) participants: host — Slovakia, group winners — Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, Romania, England, Portugal, Slovenia, Denmark, best second-place teams — Ukraine, France, Poland.

Playoff contenders (other second-place teams): Finland vs. Norway, Belgium vs. Czechia, Georgia vs. Croatia.

Ranking of second-placed teams (excluding results against sixth-placed teams in the groups): Ukraine — 18 points (goal difference +9), France — 16 (+16), Poland — 16 (+12), Croatia — 16 (+1), Finland — 14 (+5), Czechia — 14 (+2), Norway — 13 (+6), Belgium — 13 (+3), Georgia — 13 (0).

EURO 2025 (U-21) Qualifying Tournament. Group F

September 7, 2023

Northern Ireland - Luxembourg - 0:1

September 11, 2023

Luxembourg - England - 0:3

September 12, 2023

Ukraine - Northern Ireland - 1:0

Serbia - Azerbaijan - 2:0

October 12, 2023

Azerbaijan - Northern Ireland - 0:1

Luxembourg - Ukraine - 0:3

England - Serbia - 9:1

October 16, 2023

Ukraine - England - 3:2

Northern Ireland - Serbia - 1:2

October 17, 2023

Azerbaijan - Luxembourg - 3:2

November 17, 2023

Ukraine - Luxembourg - 4:0

November 18, 2023

Serbia - England - 0:3

November 21, 2023

Ukraine - Azerbaijan - 1:0

Serbia - Luxembourg - 2:0

England - Northern Ireland - 3:0

March 23, 2024

Azerbaijan - England - 1:5

Luxembourg - Serbia - 1:1

March 26, 2024

Azerbaijan - Ukraine - 0:3

Serbia - Northern Ireland - 1:2

England - Luxembourg - 7:0

September 6, 2024

Luxembourg - Azerbaijan - 2:0

Northern Ireland - England - 0:0

Ukraine - Serbia - 2:1

September 10, 2024

Northern Ireland - Ukraine - 1:2

Azerbaijan - Serbia - 0:2

October 11, 2024

England - Ukraine - 2:1

October 12, 2024

Northern Ireland - Azerbaijan - 5:0

October 15, 2024

Luxembourg - Northern Ireland - 0:0

England - Azerbaijan - 7:0

Serbia - Ukraine - 1:0