From September 22 to 27 in Kyiv, the youngest national team of Ukraine — U-16 — held a training camp. During this time, the blue-and-yellow team played two friendly matches: first, they defeated Metalist 1925 U-17 — 3:0, and then lost to Kolos U-19 — 2:3.

The head coach of the youth national team, Volodymyr Samborskyi, summed up the camp.

— Mister Volodymyr, did everything planned get accomplished?

— I am satisfied with how this camp went. And most importantly — the players' attitude towards their work. Besides practical field training, we devoted a lot of time to theoretical work. In the friendlies, the team showed itself quite well. First, we played against Metalist 1925 U-17, and then after three full training days, we faced an older team — Kolos U-19. And I want to say that in this friendly match, my wards demonstrated a decent level.   

— In the two friendlies your players scored five goals. Does this please you?

— Of course. It's always nice when a team scores as many as possible. We strive to play attacking football. But I would put more emphasis on the prospects of the players. Everyone makes mistakes, without them there is no way, but we want to make it so that these mistakes are made by our performers as little as possible.  

— What are the future plans for this team?

— The next camp will be held in November. During it, our team will play two friendly matches against Italian peers of the same age. I very much hope that at this stage of preparation we will manage to involve our foreign players in training so as to see a fuller picture regarding candidates for this national team. 

Photo by the press service of the UAF

Composition of the Ukrainian Youth National Team U-16

Goalkeepers: Kyrylo Torkhov («Shakhtar» Donetsk), Danylo Sychov («Krivbas» Kryvyi Rih).

Defenders: Maksym Misyura, Mykita Bohatyri (both — «Shakhtar» Donetsk), Vladyslav Dziubenko («Dynamo» Kyiv), Kostiantyn Kislyanka, Sviatoslav Timchuk, Mykola Kalaraş (all — «Ruh» Lviv), Dmytro Pushkalov («Metalist 1925» Kharkiv), Yaroslav Kibukyevych («Polissya» Zhytomyr).

Halfbacks: Ilya Ostrovsky, Dmytro Ponomaryov, Denys Gordiyev, Mykhailo Boyko (all — «Ruh» Lviv), Ilya Birladyanu, Oleksandr Kryvchuk (both — «Shakhtar» Donetsk), Myroslav Donik (LNZ Chernihiv), Danylo Dovhii («Dynamo» Kyiv).

Forwards: Artur Martyniuk («Dynamo» Kyiv), Artem Fedushko, Oleksandr Dziurynets (both — «Ruh» Lviv), Sviatoslav Serdyukovskyy («Uzhhorod»), Yegor Grebelnyk («Left Bank» Kyiv).