Oleksandr Kosenko: "We won't adjust our game for Romania"

15.12.2024 16:00

The head coach of Ukraine’s futsal national team, Oleksandr Kosenko, commented on the 7:0 away victory over Cyprus in the opening match of the Futsal EURO 2026 Qualifiers. The coach's remarks were published by the press service of the Futsal Association of Ukraine.

— Mr. Kosenko, we secured a confident victory and made a bright start to the European Championship qualifiers. Do you agree that the match was completely successful, or were there moments that didn’t go our way?

— In this match, we indeed outplayed our opponent and were stronger in all aspects. Like in any game, Cyprus also had some chances — we defended well and kept a clean sheet. As we’ve said before, any loss of points can negatively affect the standings later on, but we shouldn’t obsess over avoiding dropped points. We simply need to play, perform our work at a high level, step onto the court, and do what the players know how to do.

— This was our first official match since the World Cup. Has the team retained the drive and hunger for victories we saw at the Mundial?

— I think it has. This is already a new stage, and that chapter is now closed. You can’t live in the past/ You need to look ahead. You always have to strive to win. In my opinion, the players still have that desire. They all want to win, and they all want to prove that the bronze medal at the World Cup was no fluke and that they are indeed a very strong team.

— Up next is a match against Romania. Will this game be more difficult for us?

— Of course, it will be tougher. Romania is a higher-quality team. In my opinion, Romania has always been a strong side. They have technical players who don’t like to lose. Not only are they technical, but they also fight hard to avoid defeat. So, it will be a very challenging match. We are playing away, and we understand this, but we are not going to adjust to Romania’s play. Instead, we will try to showcase and impose our style of play. How it turns out — we’ll see, but it will be a difficult match.

It is worth noting that Ukraine will face Romania in their next Group 1 match. The game will take place on December 17 (kickoff at 19:00 Kyiv time) in Târgu Mureș, Romania.

Futsal EURO 2026 Qualifiers. Main Round. Group 1

December 12, 2024

Romania - Germany - 6:0

December 13, 2024

Cyprus - Ukraine - 0:7

Standings

December 17, 2024

Romania vs. Ukraine (19:00)

December 18, 2024

Germany vs. Cyprus (19:30)

January 31, 2025

Romania vs. Cyprus

Germany vs. Ukraine

February 4, 2025

Ukraine vs. Germany

February 5, 2025

Cyprus vs. Romania

April 11, 2025

Germany vs. Romania

Ukraine vs. Cyprus

April 15, 2025

Ukraine vs. Romania

Cyprus vs. Germany

Futsal EURO 2026 Main Round Draw

Group 1: Ukraine, Romania, Germany, Cyprus.

Group 2: Finland, Italy, Belarus, Malta.

Group 3: Poland, Slovakia, Moldova, Turkiye.

Group 4: Slovenia, Hungary, Montenegro, Norway.

Group 5: Croatia, Azerbaijan, Sweden, Greece.

Group 6: Kazakhstan, Armenia, Denmark, Albania.

Group 7: Portugal, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Andorra.

Group 8: Spain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, England, Switzerland.

Group 9: Serbia, Czechia, Belgium, Austria.

Group 10: France, Georgia, Kosovo, Bulgaria.

Futsal EURO 2026 Qualification Format

The qualification process consists of three stages: the preliminary round (mini-tournaments), the main round (home and away group matches), and the playoffs (home and away).

Latvia and Lithuania, the tournament hosts, receive automatic spots for EURO 2026. Some teams begin in the preliminary round, while others enter directly into the main round.

Main Round (December 9, 2024 – April 16, 2025)

A total of 40 teams (the 34 best teams according to the December ranking and the 6 best teams from the preliminary round) will be divided into 10 groups of four teams each. Every team will play against others in their group both at home and away. The 10 group winners will join Latvia and Lithuania in the final stage, while the 8 best second-place teams will advance to the playoffs.

For the draw, teams were placed into four pots of 10 teams based on their coefficients as of April 18, 2024. Ukraine was placed in Group 1, where they will face Romania, Germany, and Cyprus.

Playoffs (September 15-24, 2025)

The 8 second-place teams will be split into four pairs. After home and away matches, the final four spots in the final stage will be determined.

Final Tournament (January 18 – February 8, 2026, exact dates to be announced)

16 teams will be divided into four groups. The top two teams from each group will progress to the quarterfinals.