Beach Soccer Association of Ukraine summarizes 2024 performances of men's and women's national teams

12.01.2025 13:37

The head coaches of Ukraine's men's and women's beach soccer national teams, Mykola Kostenko and Yuriy Klymenko, have reflected on their teams' performances in 2024. Their comments were shared by the Beach Soccer Association of Ukraine.

Mykola Kostenko, head coach of the men's team:

"One of the positives this year was the tournament in Batumi (Euro Beach Soccer League 2024, Division B), where we assembled the strongest squad available at the time. Preparation and participation in these competitions met all the necessary conditions for success, resulting in us taking first place and showcasing high-quality play.

On the downside, we failed to qualify for the World Cup, where we had set our sights on the highest goals. Unfortunately, seven key players couldn’t participate in the tournament due to various reasons, leading to a disappointing outcome. However, we are not giving up and are already looking ahead to preparing for the 2025 competitions.

How do I rate the team's performance this season? On a 10-point scale, I would give it a five. The main goal was World Cup qualification, which we didn’t achieve, but the reasons were beyond our control."

Yuriy Klymenko, head coach of the women's team:

"This year, we revamped the roster as almost half of our experienced players left for various reasons. We introduced new players through two selection camps in Kyiv, identifying six or seven promising candidates who joined the team alongside more experienced players. Together, they competed in two international tournaments — the Euro Beach Soccer League and the Neom Cup.

At the start of the season, we didn’t expect major achievements. However, as the players began to understand each other and we implemented new tactical ideas, we developed a solid team. I believe we could have reached the semifinals of the Euro Beach Soccer League. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, but we played well, especially against Italy and Portugal.

At the Neom Cup, a two-month break without training affected our performance. We only reunited three days before the tournament. While we played decent football, technical errors and strategic lapses prevented us from reaching the final. Nevertheless, our match against Brazil demonstrated that we set a high bar for ourselves, and it’s unfortunate we didn’t advance further.

As for the newcomers, we shouldn’t be overly critical of them at this stage. They showed the level we expected, and while none stood out individually, they performed well collectively. Achieving extraordinary results in such a short time with the national team is challenging. I’m grateful to the players, and I would rate their performance a solid four."

It’s worth noting that Ukraine's women’s beach soccer team ended 2024 ranked a record-high second in the BSWW World Rankings, while the men’s team is currently 20th.