On May 10, the Ukrainian WU-19 women's national team will start in the second qualifying round for the European Championship, where, alongside the hosts, they will face Norway and Bulgaria.

— We are leaving from Kyiv to the venue on May 7,— said head coach Valeriy Palamarchuk in a comment to the official website of the UAF. — Since almost all my players represent foreign clubs, we will meet with one group of them in Krakow, Poland, and another in Trnava, Slovakia. And already on the evening of May 8, we will greet the flight from the USA with Yuliya Khristyuk and Nadia Ivanchenko at Vienna airport.

— Due to Russia's aggression, the football season in Ukraine has not resumed. Do you have any information about our girls who are playing for foreign teams?

— My assistants and I, Vladimir Levchuk and Oleksandr Mityk, often communicate with the players, and I hope they have already absorbed the information we provided them about their first opponents, Norway and the hosts. It is important that all girls are healthy and eager to fight. As for game practice, they have played two or three official matches each. Of course, this is not enough since eight rounds of the Norwegian championship have already been played. But there's nothing to be done; we have what we have.

— In your opinion, who among our girls can claim the role of leader?

— Yuliya Khristyuk and Inna Hlushchenko. By the way, they have already tried their skills in the senior national team.

— Then my last question: do you think that a lack of game practice will show in your players' actions in the key match against Bulgaria, which will likely determine who retains elite division status?

— I hope we will have enough time not only to restore playing connections but also to gather information about the Bulgarians, as we will face them in the final round. So far, however, we know very little about our main rivals. We do have a video recording of their match against Lithuania last year, which they won and thus moved up a class. We know that recently the Bulgarians played two friendly matches with Romania; one of their players plays in Germany. Nevertheless, I believe in my girls and am convinced that they will not let us down.

Squad of Ukraine WU-19

Goalkeepers: Daria Kelyushyk ("Kryvbas" Kryvyi Rih), Kateryna Boklach ("Lenchyna", Poland).

Defenders: Tetiana Kotovets ("Victoria", Poland), Darya Borisyuk ("Spartak" Trnava, Slovakia), Yana Kotic ("Belavyanka", Poland), Ruslana Levchenko, Lesia Olyhova (both — "Slovakia", Czech Republic).

Midfielders: Vita Rozlutskaya ("Victoria", Poland), Diana Mushtenska ("Lubliniec", Poland), Anastasiya Dovganyk ("Ladomir" Volodymyr-Volynskyi), Mariia Talib, Violeta Tyin (both — "Kryvbas" Kryvyi Rih), Dayana Semkiv ("Slovakia", Czech Republic), Yuliya Khristyuk ("Old Dominion University", USA), Nadia Ivanchenko ("Trajett McConnell", USA).

Forwards: Nataliya Kornatska ("Rolnik", Poland), Inna Hlushchenko ("Slovakia", Czech Republic), Bohdana Gryga ("Dynamo" Kyiv).

Schedule of the Second Qualifying Round for Euro-2022 (WU-19) Group A4

May 10, 2022

Ukraine — Norway 13.00 (Welsh)

Austria — Bulgaria 19.00 (Bad Vöslau-Niederdorf)

May 13, 2022

Norway — Bulgaria 13.00 (Welsh)

Austria — Ukraine 19.00 (Bad Vöslau-Niederdorf)

May 16, 2022

Norway — Austria 19.00 (Welsh)

Bulgaria — Ukraine 19.00 (Bad Vöslau-Niederdorf)

Match start times are in Kyiv time.

Euro-2022 (WU-19). Final tournament

The six group winners of League A after the second round (England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden) joined the host team, Czech Republic, in the final stage, which will take place from June 27 to July 9. The eighth participant will be the winner of Group A4. The draw for the final tournament will take place on May 18.

There will also be a league changeover that will be relevant for the first round of the UEFA WU-19 Championship 2022/2023. The last teams in League A groups will lose their elite status.