The Ukrainian beach soccer team, at the invitation of the Lithuanian Football Federation, participated in an international mini-tournament in Klaipėda over the past weekend.

In the first match, the blue-and-yellow team defeated Lithuania (2:1), in the second they lost to Poland (1:5), and in the third they beat Germany (7:6). As a result, Ukraine finished in second place at the tournament, trailing only Poland.

The performance of the Ukrainian beach soccer team in Lithuania was summed up by the head coach Mykola Kostenko.

"Firstly, we wanted to see young players — candidates for the national team at this tournament. For three players, it was their first call-up (the Melnychuk brothers and Hryhorii Komar — note), for one — second (Oleksandr Samoylenko — note), while two others joined the team only last season (Anton Ross and Mykita Levchenko — note). We needed to see their potential, whether they can become national team players in the future.

Secondly, it was important for us to maintain the game readiness of the boys during the off-season. This tournament plus matches in February in El Salvador helped them feel the sand again. We still have a bit more than a month left to prepare for official tournaments this season.

Overall, we are satisfied with our performance in Lithuania. The result was achieved despite some logistical problems. The journey to Klaipėda was very difficult as they traveled by bus for an entire day. Our opponents were tough, and so finishing second at the tournament is a good result. As for newcomers, their potential is definitely there. What's most important is that their motivation is extremely high. They came to training with great enthusiasm and gave everything they could during matches.

In addition, all of them play in futsal teams — some in the first league, others in the Kiev championship, so they are constantly in game readiness. For our coaching staff, a key point is that all newcomers have good speed — both starting and sustained speed at high intensity. Plus, set shots, functional readiness, and understanding of the game. So their foundation is good because futsal tactically resembles beach soccer quite closely. Of course, there are differences, but there are also similarities. Overall, we have no complaints about the newcomers. The only thing they lacked was the feeling of sand and corresponding technical elements such as scissors kicks.

The overall evaluation from the coaching staff is that both the tournament itself and involving new players benefited us. We were even a bit surprised by the level they demonstrated. Through systematic work, all have the potential to become high-level beach soccer players.

Our coaching staff approach is clear — in the national team play the best at the time of official tournaments. We always focus on fulfilling set tasks and call up the most prepared players. So we maintain a connection with experienced players who, for various reasons, did not participate in the tournament in Lithuania.

As for our official appearances this season, Ukraine's national team will play in Euroleague-2025 Division A. Moreover, our opponents at the first stage of qualification to the Super Final are already known — Spain, Georgia, and Germany. In terms of preparation for these tournaments, we plan to hit the sand next week. Initially, players will work with their clubs, and early May we expect to hold a training camp. Mid-May also plans two tournaments in our capital. The first is the Kiev Super Cup, the second — the Evgeny Ryabchuk Memorial Cup. If everything goes as planned, each player on the national team will play 5-6 matches in May.

We remind you that the first stage of qualification to the Euroleague-2025 Super Final with beach soccer will take place from May 22-25 in Cadiz, Spain. The second — August 1-3 in Chisinau. The Super Final will be held September 9-14 in Alghero, Italy.