According to the draw results for the playoff qualification round, the players under Ruslan Rotan will face the Slovak team. In their group C, Slovakia finished second behind Spain but ahead of Northern Ireland, Lithuania, and Malta. The playoff matches will take place from September 19-27 this year. The first match against Slovakia will be away for our national youth team. Players from our squad have assessed the strength of their opponent.

Anatoliy Trubin (goalkeeper):

"I did not have any particular preferences regarding playoff opponents. At this stage of the tournament, there are no strong or weak opponents. Each team wants to qualify for the final stages of Euro.

In Turkey at an international tournament, we lost to Slovakia, so this will be a principled confrontation for us. We need to prepare as well as possible for these matches. I believe that getting into the European Championship is within our reach."

Maxim Talovetrov (defender):

"Before the draw, I thought we would face the Czech Republic squad. For me, this would have been a specific playoff match. However, our opponent is the Slovak team. And I can say that it's not a less challenging adversary since second places in their qualifying groups are held by strong national teams. But we believe in our own strength. I think Ukraine’s national team will qualify for Euro."

Artem Bondarenko (halfback):

"Honestly, I wanted to see Slovakia as opponents after the draw results, but this doesn't mean it's a weak opponent. In playoffs, everyone is equal. We have two steps left until Euro and we will do everything in our power to be among the best teams on the continent."

Mikhail Mikhailenko (halfback):

"I believe that a serious team has become our opponent. Nevertheless, it doesn't matter who we face. The Ukrainian youth national team wants to show its best game. We will do everything to qualify for the final stages of the European Championship."

Georgiy Sudakov (halfback):

"I am satisfied with the draw. Yes, we played against Slovakia in Turkey but luck was not on our side back then. So, in playoff matches, we will try to take revenge. We are confident in our strength; Ukraine's national team should qualify for Euro."

Dmitry Kryskiv (halfback):

"During the draw, it was not necessary to focus on a specific opponent. The Ukrainian national team wants and is capable of showing its football. We aspire to progress. I think that in our qualifying group, we demonstrated that we can play against any opponent, imposing our game upon them. We believe in our strength... "

We remind you that 16 teams will participate in the final tournament — Romania and Georgia as hosts and another 14 national teams joining them based on qualification results (nine group winners, the best team among second-placed teams, and four playoff winners).

Participants of the Final Tournament: Romania, Georgia, Belgium, England, France, Germany, Portugal, Netherlands, Spain, Norway, Italy, Switzerland.

Euro-2023 (U-21). Qualification. Playoff

Croatia — Denmark

Slovakia — Ukraine

Ireland — Israel

Iceland — Czech Republic

Qualification. Group H

Final Standings

Final Standings of Second-Place Teams 

Team	Group	M	W	D	L	Pts/GD	GF/GA
1. Switzerland	E	8	5	2	1	14-6	17
2. Ukraine	H	8	5	2	1	16-10	17
3. Denmark	I	8	5	2	1	12-6	17
4. Croatia	A	8	5	1	2	19-10	16
5. Czech Republic	G	8	5	1	2	13-6	16 Tags Ukrainian Under-21 Squad Euro 2023 (U-21) Read also Euro 2023 (U-21): reaction of representatives of the Slovak youth national team to the upcoming playoff qualification match against Ukraine 22 June 2022, 12:15 Ruslan Rotan: "The fact that Slovakia is a goal-scoring team immediately catches the eye..." 22 June 2022, 10:00 Euro 2023 (U-21): the Ukrainian youth national team will play against the Slovakian team in the playoff qualification round 21 June 2022, 14:10 Subscribe to news Get the latest news and updates from our team first. Name * E-mail * I agree to the processing of personal data Subscribe