Alexander Sitnik, the head coach of Ukraine's U-17 national team, shared his thoughts on the upcoming squad assembly and expectations for official matches.

The Ukrainian youth national team (players born in 2008 or later) will soon begin preparations for the second qualifying round of Euro 2025 (U-17). The blue-and-yellow team has been placed in Group A1 alongside Italy, Croatia, and Slovakia. Matches for this mini-tournament will take place from March 19 to 25 in Croatia. Only the group winner advances to the final stage.

Ahead of the upcoming assembly, head coach Alexander Sitnik answered questions posed by the official website of the Ukrainian Football Association (UAF).

— Mr. Alexander, when does your team's assembly start?

— We depart from Kyiv by train on the evening of March 15 and hope to arrive in Croatia, near Zagreb, within a day. We will have only two training days to prepare as best we can for the tournament.

— Have you encountered any issues determining your lineup for upcoming matches?

— There are always nuances in this regard. This includes injuries and illnesses among players. For instance, we overlooked Dynamo Kyiv's Ivan Andriyak, who underwent surgery. His absence has created some problems on that position. However, we hope the other boys will not give reason for doubt about their skill.

We have been closely monitoring certain players in clubs until the last moment to be confident about tomorrow's day. There is also a problem with the squad list, which can only include 20 players (18 field players and two goalkeepers). Our coaching staff has tried to consider all scenarios for injuries or disqualifications when determining the lineup.

— The current list includes three goalkeepers...

— That's correct. One of them will be on standby. In case of a force majeure, UEFA’s medical department considers the possibility of replacing a player in the squad. It is more difficult to do this with field players but it is more realistic for goalkeepers.

— Is there enough central strikers?

— Again, we cannot have two players per position. Therefore, as I mentioned earlier, we selected players to allow us to vary the lineup. The same Dmitro Zudin can play both in the center and on the wing. And Maxim Kucheravy can operate from deep positions. Nominal midfielder Andriy Gamzik can also play out wide, just like Oleksandr Sereda.

— About a month ago you said there was not much information about opponents. How is it now?

— There is enough information overall. Our team played two friendlies against Croatia near the end of last year, before my appointment, and video footage exists. Recently, Slovakia participated in an international tournament in Turkey, while Italy conducted friendly matches with Spain and France. So there's plenty of material available. Moreover, all our opponents have already competed in the first qualifying round for the European Championship.

We understand how these teams operate, although it is still difficult to talk about lineups and who will be among the main players. For us, the most important thing is to convey to the players all principles of our play so that we can perform at our best qualities and exploit weaknesses in our opponents.

— Who is the favorite in our group, Italy or host Croatia?

— It's hard to say because psychology plays a big role in youth football. The team that handles this better will likely win. Although we often compare youth teams with their senior national sides. But I'll say this: Italy, Croatia, and Slovakia are good quality teams. They may not have standout stars but all opponents are balanced both offensively and defensively. Perhaps on paper the chances are slightly higher for Croatia as they play at home, but everything will be shown in the matches themselves. However, I don't think it's wise to count out Ukraine or Slovakia.

— In what condition does the Ukrainian team go into this tournament?

— There are no secrets in modern football, although we are certainly not considered potential winners of the tournament. Whether that works to our advantage or not will be shown by time. I can say one thing: the Ukrainian national team has a great desire to qualify for the European Championship. It's important that our boys don't fear serious opponents. We'll go from match to match and fight hard in each.

Ukraine U-17 squad

Goalkeepers: Kyrylo Khadashevych («Wolfsburg», Germany), Yegor Krapivin («Espanyol», Spain), Fedir Tkachenko («Betis», Spain).

Defenders: Yegor Kostenok, Yaroslav Milokost, Nikita Kaluzhnyi, Yegor Onyshchuk (all — «Shakhtar» Donetsk), Arsen Zalipka («Ruh» Lviv), Mykita Melnyk («Imolese», Italy), Oleksandr Tkachenko («Werder Bremen», Germany).

Midfielders: Pavlo Lysin («Dynamo» Kyiv), Artem Zubriy, Oleksandr Sereda (both — «Shakhtar» Donetsk), Muhammad Dzhurabaev («Ruh» Lviv), Artsem Muradyan («Borussia M», Germany), Mykola Petrovskyi («Stuttgart», Germany), Illia Kutya («Hajduk», Croatia), Andriy Gamzik («Bayern Munich», Germany), Arseniy Shishkevych («Río Ave», Portugal).

Forwards: Dmitro Zudin («Hajduk», Croatia), Maxim Kucheravyi («Dynamo» Kyiv).

Euro 2025 (U-17). Second qualifying round. Group A1

March 19, 2025

Ukraine — Croatia (Karlovac, 13:00)

Italy — Slovakia (Sesvete, 16:30)

March 22, 2025

Italy — Ukraine (Lučko, 13:00)

Croatia — Slovakia (Karlovac, 16:30)

March 25, 2025

Croatia — Italy (Lučko, 16:30)

Slovakia — Ukraine (Sesvete, 16:30)

Match times are in Kyiv time.

Draw results for the second qualifying round of Euro 2025 (U-17)

League A

Group A1: Italy, Croatia, Ukraine, Slovakia.

Group A2: Spain, Austria, Germany, Norway.

Group A3: France, Greece, Denmark, Finland.

Group A4: Portugal, Serbia, Netherlands, Hungary.

Group A5: Czech Republic, Switzerland, Turkey, Sweden.

Group A6: Belgium, Poland, Iceland, Ireland.

Group A7: England, Northern Ireland, Slovenia, Israel.

28 teams were divided into seven groups of four participants each. The seven group winners in League A will qualify to join the host nation Albania for the final tournament, which will take place from May 19 to June 1. Seven teams finishing fourth in their respective League A groups will drop down to League B for the first qualifying round of Euro 2027 (U-19).

It should be noted that Euro 2025 (U-17) will serve as a qualifier for the 2025 World Cup in the U-17 category, which will feature 48 teams and take place in Qatar.

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