The head coach of the Ukrainian beach soccer team, Mykola Kostenko, has summed up our team's performance at the prestigious El Salvador Beach Soccer Cup 2025 tournament.

As a reminder, Ukraine secured second place in the competition, only behind Portugal. The blue-and-yellow team lost to El Salvador (4:4, on penalties — 1:3) and Portugal (4:5), but won their final match against Venezuela (3:2). 

The performance of the Ukrainian team was commented on by its coach, Mykola Kostenko, reports the APU.

"Regarding the place — this is a success, but there's still more to work on and move forward towards an even better result. I'll just say that the attitude towards the matter, the players' mindset, and their professionalism were at the highest level. It seems they didn't leave the sand despite being in the off-season. The players of our team demonstrated a very high level of mastery, tactical interaction, and physical condition. 

If we evaluate the opponents, Portugal arrived with its strongest lineup, but one of their leaders — Jordan — got injured in the first match. As always, the Portuguese prepare fundamentally and systematically for a new season, having already held a two-week training camp. 

The Ukrainian team did not have the appropriate conditions to prepare for this tournament, but we played on equal terms with them, and despite the draw result, we had several very good opportunities to score. Unfortunately, we conceded a goal 17 seconds before the end of the match. 

El Salvador and Venezuela are preparing to participate in the World Cup qualifier soon, so they are in excellent shape, but for now, they still yield to European teams in individual skill and tactical preparation. 

Regarding Anton Ross, who scored three goals at the tournament — he is a young, very promising player with good speed and shooting accuracy. Much depends on him — how fundamentally he will work on self-improvement and improving his game in defense. 

Our newcomer Oleksandr Samoylenko quickly integrated into the team, was highly motivated. He was a bit nervous but this did not prevent him from showing himself at his best. For a debut, the boy had a confident and creative look. After the tournament, we talked to him about the qualities he needs to improve. 

The tournament itself was organized on the highest level — from our first to last minute there. The games were held under the patronage of El Salvador's Ministry of Sports, so the minister and his team were present at the press conference for their opening and all matches of their national team. Beach soccer is very popular in this country. They have built modern infrastructure, an internal championship with 16 participating teams, and a national women's team as well. The men's national team of El Salvador — four-time participant in World Championships. In 2011, they secured fourth place in Ravenna, Italy. Currently, they are ranked 18th in the world ranking by BSWW. 

If we talk about our future plans, then we aim to continue preparing for Euroleague-2025, which this year will consist of two stages — in Spain (May 25–27) and Moldova (August 1–3). The final stage will take place in the Italian town of Alghero from September 9 to 14," — said Mykola Kostenko.