The head coach of Ukraine's men's beach soccer team, Mykola Kostenko, has summed up the performance of our national team at the first qualifying stage for the EuroLeague-2025 Superfinal.

At the tournament in the Spanish town of El Puerto de Santa Maria, the blue-and-yellow team accumulated six points and secured second place in Group 1. The Ukrainians lost to Germany (3:2) and Georgia (5:1), but were defeated by Spain (3:5).

The head coach of the Ukrainian team, Mykola Kostenko, commented on the results of the qualifying tournament and talked about preparations for upcoming matches.

"I believe we achieved a good result considering this was the beginning of the season and our team had not yet reached optimal playing conditions. We expected to participate in a later stage where our players could play four or five matches, but it turned out they played one or two, with some not playing at all. So for the start of the season, this is quite acceptable.

We also need to understand that our opponents were very tough. Germany, which we beat 3:2 after falling behind by two goals during the match... The Germans have always been a strong team, and their leader Oli is one of Europe's top players. A powerful goalkeeper Marius Ebener who definitely plays at the highest level. For us, this was our first official game of the season, and we managed to turn the tide of the encounter thanks to team spirit and support from the stands. We can say that this match gave us confidence in our abilities and allowed us to recall playing connections.

Georgia is also a strong team with big ambitions and long-term plans. They have an excellent goalkeeper and a quality player roster, which was evident in their game against Germany where they even led the score.

The Spanish hosts were clearly aiming high. Their team is being renewed, but it's clear that there are powerful players with a professional approach to the sport. In our match against them, we initially lost, but in the third period we slightly adjusted and even equalized on adrenaline — 3:3, but at the end we lacked concentration.

But I will say again, overall I believe the trip was successful. Second place is a result that gives us an opportunity to calmly prepare for the next qualifying stage in Moldova and look optimistically at the possibility of advancing to the EuroLeague-2025 Superfinal. I want to emphasize that the boys, as always, approached their national team duties with full commitment. This is one of the main requirements of our coaching staff.

Now we will prepare for the next stage in Chisinau. The preparation plan already exists, but we still need to work on its details. The boys are currently playing for their club teams, but in a few weeks we will start training with the national team. Our opponents at the Moldovan stage will be France, Italy, and Greece. The task for Ukraine's national team is to prepare well for these matches," — said Mykola Kostenko. 

We remind you that the Ukrainian men's national team will participate in the fourth qualifying stage of EuroLeague-2025, which will take place on August 1-3 in Chisinau, Moldova. The Superfinal is scheduled for September 9-14 in Viareggio, Italy.