The head coach of Ukraine's U-17 team Alexander Sitnik spoke about the readiness of his players for the first qualifying round of the European Championship.

On October 1, Ukraine's youth national team (players born in 2010 or later) will kick off their qualification campaign for Euro-2026 (U-17) with a match against Montenegro. The other opponents in this stage will be Estonia (hosts of the matches) and Italy.

Ahead of our team's start, its head coach Alexander Sitnik answered questions from the official website of the Ukrainian Football Association.

— Mr. Alexander, how would you evaluate the readiness of your players for the matches in the first qualifying round?

— We have some issues with our lineup. They were still present before the previous training camp, which took place at the beginning of September in Croatia. Now due to injuries, we won't be able to involve several key players. However, we believe that the players called up as replacements will demonstrate all their best qualities and help solve the tasks facing the national team.

— Do you have three incomplete training days before the start of the matches? On what do you focus in preparing the team for the tournament?

— Some players played their club matches on September 28, while others did not participate in the league. It is important to bring the squad to a common level physically. Additionally, we will discuss our playing principles with the players, which we work on at every training camp.

I would like to express my gratitude to all clubs that released their players, as this qualifying round has been slightly shifted in dates and does not fall into FIFA's official calendar. However, everyone who was supposed to join the team is here.

— The midfielder of Barcelona, Artem Ribak, has already been called up several times before. Could this be a future star for Ukraine's national team?

— Undoubtedly. This is quite an intelligent footballer. Perhaps he still lacks physical strength, but he works diligently on it. The club often involves him in matches with older players, and that speaks volumes. For us, this is one of the key players in midfield. We had an agreement with Barcelona that he wouldn't come to the previous training camp but would be released for the qualifying matches instead. Artem possesses all the qualities needed to become a strong player.

— What can you say about the opponents?

— It is clear that in our group, Italy cannot be overlooked. Moreover, this age group in Italy is rich with talent. Therefore, it will be interesting to see ourselves against such a strong opponent. Italy is the favorite of our quartet. Estonia is a solid team that plays physical football. There's a slight advantage for this opponent as they are the hosts of the matches, which provides additional motivation—to impress their fans. The Ukrainian national team has faced Montenegro at a tournament in Romania. This is a strong team with tall players who play somewhat vertical football.

— What task stands before Ukraine's national team?

— The minimum goal is to get out of the group. And the maximum—get out of the group in first place, as this provides privileges for future draws.

Composition of Ukraine's U-17 youth team

Goalkeepers: Oleksandr Stepanov («Shakhtar» Donetsk), Denis Stolyarenko («Legia», Poland), Dmitry Pozhar («Dynamo» Kyiv).

Defenders: Nazar Smotrichnyy, Roman Shupik (both — LNZ Chernihiv), Markian Panchishyn («Karpaty» Lviv), Denis Plyaminyskyi («Gaiduk», Croatia), Illia Yablonskyy («Sporting», Portugal), Oleh Pylypiuk («Shakhtar» Donetsk).

Midfielders: Stanislav Shukalovich («Shakhtar» Donetsk), Denis Gordiyev, Oleksandr Hoch (both — «Ruh» Lviv), Andriy Hamzik («Bayern», Germany), Yaroslav Kozushko («Slavia», Czech Republic), Danylo Dyachok, Yaroslav Buravtsov (both — «Dynamo» Kyiv), Artem Ribak («Barcelona», Spain).

Forwards: Volodymyr Kvikvinia («Dynamo» Kyiv), Adam Guram («Gaiduk», Croatia), Oleh Dziurenets («Ruh» Lviv), Kirill Serdyuk («Stuttgart», Germany).

Recall that in the first qualifying round of Euro-2026 (U-17) Ukraine's youth national team will play in Group 1, where their opponents are Italy, Montenegro and Estonia. The host of the mini-tournament is Estonia.

Schedule of matches for Ukraine's U-17 youth team

01.10.2025. Montenegro — Ukraine 

04.10.2025. Ukraine — Estonia

07.10.2025. Ukraine — Italy  

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

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 each and two groups of three participants. The host of the final tournament, Estonia's national team, will also participate in the qualification.

Based on the results of the first qualifying round, 14 group winners and 14 teams that finish second will advance to the second round of League A. The remaining 26 teams will take part in the second round of League B.

Teams advancing to the second qualification round in League A will compete for seven spots at Euro-2026 (U-17) in spring 2026. Estonia, as hosts of the tournament, received an automatic berth. It should be noted that this qualifying round is also a qualifier for the CS-2026 (U-17) 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.