The head coach of the Ukrainian women's national team, Luis Cortés, spoke about the training camp in Poland, new players joining the squad, and preparations for a friendly match against Estonia today, April 11, at the Sportland Arena in Tallinn (kick-off at 7 PM):

— I am very happy to be back with the team after six months. We had the opportunity to train for a week in Poland. I am satisfied with how the training camp went, and the girls are in good shape despite most of them having just returned from the winter break in the Ukrainian championship. 

I think we have an interesting match ahead of us. While Estonia may not be a top-ranked team according to FIFA, they have achieved good results in their last seven official matches. Moreover, the Estonian women will play at home and will try to show good football. This is a team that tries to play positionally and use short passes. For us, it will be important to quickly go into defense and play with the ball. And of course, implement everything we trained for during this stage.

Photo by Pavel Kubanov

— You have called up two new players to the national team. What can you say about their condition?

— Daria Kelyushyk is a very young player who came from the U-19 team. Polina Yanchuk is the top scorer in the Ukrainian Premier League. 

I think it's important for us to call up new players. It’s crucial that they feel there are opportunities to represent Ukraine at an international level if they perform well in their clubs.

— While the national team was training in Poland, the WU-19 squad is competing in Denmark in the second round of qualification for Euro 2023. Are you following their matches and what impressions did they leave?

— The girls played very tough games against Sweden and Denmark. These are top-level opponents. They work a lot with women's and girls' teams, with mass women’s football, so this is their level. 

It's important for us to see this level because if we want to reach it, we need to put in a lot of effort and invest heavily in young players. This also falls under the responsibility of the UAF — attracting more girls to play football. The more girls who play football, the higher the level of women’s and girls’ football will be in Ukraine.

Photo by Pavel Kubanov

— Are you planning to call up more new players from the Ukrainian championship or WU-19 squad for the next training camp scheduled in July?

— This is entirely possible. We currently have two new players, but there may be more in the future. We are looking at players from both the WU-19 and clubs in the Ukrainian championship. It also depends on which positions we need to cover. I can only advise all girls to work hard because the doors to the national team of Ukraine are always open. 

Squad for the Women's National Team

Goalkeepers: Daria Kelyushyk («Kryvbas» Kryvyi Rih), Daryna Bondarchuk, Kateryna Samson (both — «Vorskla» Poltava).

Defenders: Iryna Kotyash, Kateryna Korsun, Iryna Podolska (all — «Vorskla» Poltava), Lyubov Shmatko, Yana Derkach (both — «Fomget», Turkey), Tetiana Romanenko («Saint-Etienne», France).

Midfielders: Tetiana Kitaieva, Natiia Pansulaia (both — «Kolos» Kovalevka), Anna Petrik («Vorskla» Poltava), Viktoriia Hryin («Ladomir» Volodymyr), Iryna Kochneva («Kryvbas» Kryvyi Rih), Daria Apanaschenko («Fomget», Turkey), Nikolina Kozlova («Kege», Denmark), Yana Malakhova («Pradexon», Spain), Tamila Khymych (ETO, Hungary).

Forwards: Yana Kalinina («Vorskla» Poltava), Polina Yanchuk («Kryvbas» Kryvyi Rih), Olena Ovdiiychuk («Fomget», Turkey), Nadia Kunyna («Austria», Austria).

By the way, today's match between Estonia and Ukraine will be their third meeting in history. In 2012, they met during a European Championship qualifier — both times the Ukrainians won (5-0 and 4-1).

Recall that the draw for the first-ever Women's Nations League is scheduled for May 2. The composition of leagues and rankings before the draw will be determined by the current UEFA women’s national team ranking. Currently, Ukraine is ranked 22nd in the registry, which predicts their entry into League B.

In 2023, participants in the Nations League are scheduled to have six game windows: September 20-22 and 23-26, October 25-27 and 28-31, November 29 - December 1 and December 2-5.