Today, the Ukraine U21 team will host a Euro 2023 (U-21) qualifier match against North Macedonia in Istanbul (20.45). Ahead of the game, head coach Ruslan Rotan spoke about the team's preparation.

"The mood is good. It’s always pleasant to continue working when you win, especially with such confidence. I asked the boys to maintain the same level of motivation and spirit in the match against North Macedonia as we did before. We hope it will be so.

There's a small issue transitioning from artificial turf on the Faroe Islands to natural grass. Our main efforts were directed at getting the players back into shape."

According to medical forecasts, Roman Didyk is out for 7-10 days. We hope he will be fit for the match against France. Given our central defenders' issues, we called up Valeriy Dubko. He has arrived, so we can cover ourselves.

Balkan teams are always tough and tenacious. I note that North Macedonia's squad includes nine foreign-based players. This indicates the team is quite serious. Despite losing their chance to advance from the group stage, the Macedonians have called up the same players who worked throughout the qualifiers. They haven't refreshed the team, continuing with the same lineup. The match will be serious and we need to take it seriously.

Injuries are making their adjustments. We must consider that there are three more matches left for us. Perhaps some players need more time to recover. I think our lineup will see changes, as we're thinking not only about the next game," — said Ruslan Rotan.

Rotan's wards have three more matches in the group stage. The home games against North Macedonia and France will be played on June 5th and 9th at Istanbul's «Essenyer Nizam Kadioglu» stadium, which is used by the local club «Istanbulspor» (holds 4,500 spectators). The first match starts at 20.45 (local time matches Kyiv's time zone). The kickoff for the game against France is set for 19.45.

The Armenia - Ukraine game will take place on June 12th at Yerevan Football Academy Stadium (kickoff — 18.00 Kyiv time).

It's worth noting that the blue-and-yellow team, having secured at least second place in the group table, still has a chance to secure first place, although second position under certain scenarios may prove golden.

Recall that 16 teams will participate in the Euro 2023 (U-21) final stage — Romania and Georgia as hosts of the tournament plus 14 qualifiers joining them based on their qualifying results (nine group winners, the best team among second-placed sides, and four playoff winners, in which eight second-placed teams will compete).

Ukraine U21 squad

Goalkeepers: Anatoliy Trubin («Shakhtar» Donetsk), Ruslan Nescheret («Dynamo» Kyiv), Kirill Fesyun («Kolos» Kovalivka).

Defenders: Anton Bol, Konstantin Vycharenko (both — «Dynamo» Kyiv), Oleksandr Drambeyev («Mariupol»), Oleksiy Syts, Roman Didyk (both — «Ruh» Lviv), Dmytro Kapinus («Metalist 1925» Kharkiv), Maxim Talovoyev («Slavia», Czech Republic), Valeriy Dubko («Zorya» Luhansk).

Midfielders: Georgy Sudakov, Artem Bondarenko (both — «Shakhtar» Donetsk), Danyil Alefrenko, Maxim Khlan (both — «Zorya» Luhansk), Eldar Kuliyev («Minay»), Mykola Mikhaylenko, Maxim Bragaru (both — «Chornomorets» Odesa), Dmytro Kryskiv («Metalist 1925» Kharkiv), Ivan Zhelezko («Valmiera», Latvia), Bohdan Bilochevskyi («Oleksandria»).

Forwards: Vladyslav Vanat («Dynamo» Kyiv), Vladyslav Supryaga («Sampdoria», Italy), Mykola Kukharevich («Leuven», Belgium), Bohdan Vyunyk («Zurich», Switzerland).

UEFA Euro 2023 (U-21). Qualifying tournament. Group H

Table 

05.06.2022

Ukraine — North Macedonia

06.06.2022

Armenia — France

07.06.2022

Faroe Islands — Serbia

09.06.2022

Ukraine — France

12.06.2022

Armenia — Ukraine

Play-offs: 20—27 September 2022.

Final tournament: June/July 2023.

The round-robin stage involving the 16 qualifiers will be hosted by four stadiums in Romania (two — in Cluj-Napoca and two — in Bucharest) and four in Georgia (in Batumi, Poti and two — in Tbilisi). The opening match of the tournament will take place in Romania, while the final will be held in Georgia.