The Ukrainian beach soccer team will compete in the group stage of the III European Games in Poland, along with Switzerland, Italy, and Moldova. Another group includes Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Azerbaijan. The head coach of our team, Mykhailo Kostenko, shared his plans for preparing the team for the tournament.

"This weekend in Kyiv's Hydropark, we held a tournament in memory of Yevhen Ryabchuk, where the top four teams competed. Practically all players from our national team, with the exception of just a few, participated. These were very intense and high-quality matches. For example, both semi-final winners, NC Beachsoccer and 'VIT', decided their match in penalty kicks and extra time. This shows the level of competition."

In the final, NC Beachsoccer emerged victorious in a very exciting match (3:0). Even in the third-place game, many goals were scored, as they say, for the spectators. This is exactly what our national team needs to quickly get into playing shape.

As for the direct preparation for the European Games, our coaching staff has planned a training camp in Nazaré, Portugal. We will leave from Kyiv on June 1 and expect to arrive at night between June 2 and 3. There we will work through two microcycles. The first one will focus on developing speed and strength qualities, endurance. The boys will train three times a day. And the second one will be technical-tactical components. We will practice standard positions, attack and defense.

The camp will last until June 10, and we are confident that it will take place in excellent conditions. The team will live outside the city in a sports hotel with a gym. For a coach, this is a dream come true. Training, nutrition, and rest - everything is perfect," said the head coach.

We remind you that the head coach of the Ukrainian national team, Mykhailo Kostenko, and his assistant Oleksandr Koronychuk invited 13 players to the Portugal camp.

Ukrainian Beach Soccer Team Roster for Training in Portugal

Goalkeepers: Andriy Nerus, Oleksandr Poslavskyi («VIT»), Dmytro Sabatyuk («Alternativa»).

Field Players: Ivan Hlutsyk, Maxim Voytok, Oleg Budzko, Yuri Shcheritsia (all — «VIT»), Dmytro Voytenko, Andriy Pashko, Igor Levchenko (all — «Alternativa»), Oleh Zborovskyy, Andriy Borsuk (both — «Artyr Music»), Oleg Shchitnik (NC Beachsoccer).

We remind you that both the men's and women's beach soccer tournaments at the 2023 European Games will take place from June 27 to July 1 in Tarnów, Poland.

According to the tournament rules, men's national teams will play a round-robin group stage, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semi-finals. The losers will compete for 5th-8th place.