Our team's captain Oleh Bortnyk shared his impressions from the performance of his wards on the official website of the UAF:

— After reviewing the video material, I leaned towards the idea that the decisive match for retaining a place in the elite division would be the opening game against Austria. Unfortunately, due to visa issues, we did not manage to arrive on time for this match and were given a technical loss — 0:3.

In my opinion, our next opponents, the Belgian team, were better prepared than the Austrians. Moreover, the situation was such that this very match determined the outcome of the tournament. To be frank, the forces were uneven. We only approached the opponent's goal a few times; after one attack we even managed to score, but beyond that we could not do more, while the Belgians confidently secured a victory — 4:1.

— The final match against the hosts had no tournament significance…

— That's why I asked the girls to play for their own pleasure, act freely and challenge the opponents. But this was impossible. I have been working in women's football for over 10 years now, and no one has ever made such a strong impression on me as the English team did. Indeed, local experts stated that they had never before seen such a powerful youth squad. It is not surprising that most of the English players represent well-known clubs from their country. It seemed like almost every player from the host side effortlessly outmaneuvered three to four opponents and scored impressively. Of course, after conceding ten goals without scoring any myself and my wards were left in a void…

Now it is crucial to draw the right conclusions from this performance. After all, we are talking about the immediate reserve for Ukraine's women's national team, and falling behind in every aspect — is critical.

— What next?

— There is a lot of work ahead. Since seven players are leaving the youth squad due to age, they need to find suitable replacements. This will be difficult as they formed the core. And in the fall, Ukraine's newly updated team awaits participation in the first round of the upcoming European Championship qualifier, but this time not in the elite division. I hope it is only temporary...

Composition of the Ukrainian Women's Youth National Team WU-19

Goalkeepers: Victoria Kalynchuk («Kryvyi Rih» Kryvyi Rih), Svitlana Sachno («Kolos» Kovalevka).

Defenders: Elizaveta Maslovskaya («Shakhtar» Donetsk), Maria Ignatenko, Diana Tkachuk (both — «Ladomir» Volodymyr), Anastasiya Yaremchuk («Polska» Zhytomyr), Darina Krasnoborodko («Kolos» Kovalevka), Ieva Balatska («Obolon» Kyiv).

Midfielders: Lidiya Zaborovets («Shakhtar» Donetsk), Diana Borovskyi («EMS-Podillya» Vinnytsia), Anastasiya Tarasenko («Ladomir» Volodymyr), Anastasiya Zhigadlo, Anastasiya Stakhnyuk (both — «Kryvyi Rih» Kryvyi Rih), Anastasiya Migal (DVTK, Hungary), Yevgeniya Belova («Zurich», Switzerland), Veronika Golovanchuk («Obolon» Kyiv), Liza Zhigadlo («Polska» Zhytomyr).

Forwards: Olena Martchenyuk («EMS-Podillya» Vinnytsia), Anastasiya Lakhovich («Shakhtar» Donetsk), Marina Ptitsyna («Sisters» Odessa).

EURO-2025 (WU-19). Second Qualifying Round. Group A3

02.04.2025

England — Belgium — 6:0

Austria — Ukraine — 3:0 (technical victory)

05.04.2025

Austria — England — 1:5

Belgium — Ukraine — 4:1

08.04.2025

Belgium — Austria — 1:3

Ukraine — England — 0:10

Final Standings

In the second qualifying round, seven teams were determined to join Poland in the final stage of the European Championship for women under 19 (June 15-27), as well as teams moving from one league to another. Despite automatic qualification into the finals, Poland participated in the qualifiers. The seeding for the draw was based on the positions that the national teams held after the first round.

In League A, 28 teams competed across seven groups, including seven squads that had risen from League B following the results of the first round. Six group winners in the second round and the best runner-up (since Poland finished first in their group) secured spots in the final stage. Teams finishing fourth in their groups will start the season-2025/2026 in League B.

Twenty-three teams in League B, including those that dropped out after the autumn phase from League A, competed across six groups for spots to move up to League A's first round of the next tournament.

EURO-2025 (WU-19). Second Qualifying Round

League A

Group A1: Netherlands, Denmark, Greece, Romania.

Group A2: Norway, Portugal, Iceland, Slovenia.

Group A3: Austria, Belgium, England, Ukraine.

Group A4: Italy, Sweden, Slovakia, Belarus.

Group A5: Spain, Czech Republic, Scotland, Switzerland.

Group A6: France, Ireland, Serbia, Wales.

Group A7: Germany, Poland, Finland, Israel.

League B

Group B1: Bulgaria, Georgia, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein.

Group B2: Faroe Islands, Estonia, Cyprus, Moldova.

Group B3: Kosovo, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Malta.

Group B4: Northern Ireland, Albania, Montenegro, Azerbaijan.

Group B5: North Macedonia, Croatia, Armenia, Lithuania.

Group B6: Hungary, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina.