The head coach of Ukraine's under-20 national team (players born in 2009 or later) Oleksandr Sitnik summed up the training camp held in Finland.

The under-16 Ukrainian national team, preparing for the first round of Euro 2026 (U-17) qualification, concluded their training camp during which they participated in UEFA's Development Tournament.

Coach Oleksandr Sitnik shared his summary of this camp with the official website of the Ukrainian Football Association (UAF).

— Mr. Oleksandr, what would you say about the recent training camp?

— It was good for the coaching staff and, importantly, informative. We wanted to get closer acquainted with players who play abroad. The results were not ideal, but we knew this wasn't our optimal squad as we had almost 80% new faces. For the boys, it was their first experience. We wanted to see if the players understood what coaches expect from them. I can say that the team looked better in each game. Naturally, in the last match against Hungary, many things worked out for us.

— How did you find your opponents at the UEFA Development Tournament?

— All teams were of good quality, more or less on par. I wouldn't say that Greece and Finland beat us because we made individual mistakes which they capitalized on.

The same Hungarians and Finns had done a lot of training sessions and matches, so they were better prepared. We saw what we still need to work on.

— How would you explain the first two losses in these competitions?

— In many moments, it was clear that players arrived in different functional states, and most of them didn't know each other. Moreover, we had only one full training session before the tournament. So it was hard to show all our best qualities. But again, throughout the games, the team improved. It wasn't a complete picture for the coaching staff, but progress was evident.

— The boys were very disappointed with third place?

— Of course, when you do something, you want to achieve the best result. Players who came for the first time really wanted to show themselves. Despite this, we told our players that at this stage it's important for coaches to see understanding of the game and effort. So we emphasized not to be too upset after negative results but to continue working as there are much more important and difficult challenges ahead.

Photo by UAF press service

— How many players from this squad will be called up for the next camp?

— It's too early to say as some may join, while others might not. At this age, it's not always possible to demonstrate stability over a long period. The same boys from Ukrainian clubs were at such a tournament for the first time where decision-making speed increases, so it was important to see how they could adapt to this level.

We lost in anthropometry to almost all teams, so we had to take other qualities into account. We saw that many of our players have areas to improve on. No one will put a cross on these footballers. We continue observing candidates for the national team, but those who look stronger at the right moment will get the call.

UEFA Development Tournament among under-16 national teams

04.05.2025

Finland — Hungary — 2:0

Greece — Ukraine — 3:1

06.05.2025

Hungary — Greece — 1:2

Ukraine — Finland — 0:1

09.05.2025

Ukraine — Hungary — 2:1

Finland — Greece — 6:2

Final standings

Recall that on December 5 in Nyon, Switzerland, the draw for the first round of Euro 2026 (U-17) qualification took place. According to its results, Ukraine's youth team ended up in Group 1 where they will face Italy, Montenegro, and Estonia. The tournament host is Estonia.

Schedule for the Ukrainian national under-17 team

01.10.2025. Montenegro — Ukraine 

04.10.2025. Ukraine — Estonia

07.10.2025. Ukraine — Italy  

Results of the draw for the first round of Euro 2026 (U-17) qualification

Group 1: Italy, Ukraine, Montenegro, Estonia.

Group 2: Czech Republic, Hungary, North Macedonia, Gibraltar.

Group 3: England, Sweden, Lithuania, Scotland.

Group 4: Spain, Denmark, Latvia, Andorra.

Group 5: Belgium, Norway, Belarus, Moldova.

Group 6: Austria, Ireland, Kosovo, Faroe Islands.

Group 7: Serbia, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Malta.

Group 8: Croatia, Netherlands, Albania, Kazakhstan.

Group 9: France, Israel, Romania, Azerbaijan.

Group 10: Switzerland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, San Marino.

Group 11: Northern Ireland, Finland, Cyprus, Armenia.

Group 12: Portugal, Slovenia, Wales, Liechtenstein.

Group 13: Poland, Germany, Luxembourg.

Group 14: Greece, Iceland, Georgia.

54 teams were divided into 12 groups of four participants and two groups of three participants. The host of the final stage, Estonia's national team, will also participate in the qualification.

According to the results of the first round of qualification, 14 group winners and 14 teams that took second place will advance to the second round of Group A. The remaining 26 teams will take part in the second round of Group B.

Teams advancing to the second round of qualification in Group A will compete for seven spots at Euro 2026 (U-17) in spring 2026. Estonia, as the tournament host, automatically received a bye pass. It's worth noting that this qualifying round is also a qualifier for the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar.

Moreover, teams from both leagues of the second qualification round will compete to move up and down between leagues before the first round of Euro 2028 (U-19) qualification.