In the Euro Beach Soccer League 2025 Superfinal, held in Viareggio, Italy, Ukraine's men’s beach soccer team secured fourth place. After defeating Switzerland (5:4), losing to Spain (4:5), and a tough match against Denmark (6:6, penalty shootout - 6:5) during the group stage, the Ukrainians finished second in Group B. This ensured our boys a spot in the semifinals of the tournament, where they were defeated by Italy (1:4). In the match for third place, Ukraine refused to play against Belarus and secured fourth place at the tournament.

The team's coach, Mykola Kostyenko, shared his impressions about Ukraine’s performance in Viareggio.

"It was clear that we were fighting for medals in the Euro Beach Soccer League, but the team refused to play for third place, and there could be no compromise. This decision wasn't just ours, but also a national one. It's wrong when a country that is an ally of an aggressor participates in competitions under its own flag and with its anthem. Given all this, being among the top four teams in Europe, ahead of Portugal, Switzerland, and France, is a respectable result. Overall, we are satisfied with our team’s performance. Despite all the nuances, starting from the very difficult journey to Italy and the difficulties in preparation, both objective and subjective, we played the tournament quite well.

Unfortunately, due to these nuances, we lacked functional readiness in the semifinal match against Italy. The Italians outperformed us in terms of speed and better physical condition. This applies to other matches as well—against Spain and Denmark. At the end, a lack of concentration and functionality slightly affected our performance.

Despite this, I believe that the match against Spain brought much positivity. Losing during the game 0-3, we managed to turn the situation around and go ahead 4-3. It was evident that the opponents found it hard to change anything, while our boys gained confidence in their actions. Although the opponent capitalized on two of their chances and won—5:4—the coaching staff is very pleased with this match.

The same can be said about the match against Switzerland. The end was not easy, but throughout the entire game we hardly gave them any chances. We led 5-2 and had several good opportunities. Despite a penalty in our goal and an unnecessary goal from midfield, the boys demonstrated character and secured a positive result.

Against Denmark, with a score of 6-4 overall, there was no general relaxation, but there were individual moments of player distraction. As a result, within 25 seconds we conceded two goals. In my opinion, this is related to preparation again. If you prepare systematically and fundamentally in all aspects of the game, such moments are much fewer.

In our team, newcomer Denis Yarmak made his debut. He impressed well in Kiev. At the Ukrainian championship, Denis was one of the leaders of his team (NC Beachsoccer—note), and in the national team he stood out with high speed and good physical condition. He is well-armed technically and tactically. The coaching staff is very pleased with him. If he continues to work in this spirit, he will have a bright future. The main thing—is not to stop and continue developing.

I would like to highlight the great interest in Euro Beach Soccer from fans. Of course, Italians strongly supported their team, which also played its part in our semifinal match. Long queues formed for the final game. The stadium was packed, and Italy's national team responded well to their supporters with a good performance and tournament victory. Their goalkeeper, Leandro Casapeiri, performed exceptionally well, conceding the least goals overall and excelling at his position. He also helped the Italian team in our match.

Once again, I emphasize that proper preparation is needed to compete on equal terms with such national teams. But there's potential in our team, so we won't give up hope. Anton Ross, Denis Yarmak, Andriy Pashko... Some rejuvenation is happening in our squad. I also want to mention Serhiy Maksymtsia, who may not have played as brightly but was very pragmatic and responsible. He scored against Italy in the semifinal.

As always, our goalkeepers—Oleksandr Poslavskyi and Andriy Nerusch—performed at a high level. Andriy had a minor injury he sustained during the Ukrainian championship. But thanks to his professionalism and fighting qualities, he greatly helped the team. I want to highlight this because it was very difficult for Andriy to play.

An important role for us was played by support from our women's team. Of course, we also encouraged them during the tournament. We were constantly on the stands cheering and applauding during matches.

Regarding the near future, almost all players of the national team will soon take part in the final matches of the Kiev Cup. Then we will summarize this challenging year and plan our activities for next season,"—said Mykola Kostyenko.