Our girls' training camp for 2024 started on March 12th, so the blue-and-yellow team had several days to prepare. Oleh Shaytanov called up 15 players for the national team. The women's national team of Ukraine arrived in Taranto for two friendly matches against the Italians.

Photos courtesy of AFA

The first game will take place today, March 18th, and the second one on the 19th (kick-off at 21:00 and 20:00 Kyiv time respectively).

Photos courtesy of AFA

Roster of the Ukrainian Women's Futsal Team

Goalkeepers — Anastasiia Teresh (Leixoes, Portugal), Nataliia Mytrofanova (Valdetires Ferrol, Spain), Varvara Novikova (Ladomir); field players — Kseniya Grytsenko, Snizhana Volovenko, Yelizaveta Kuznetsova, Alona Kovaleva (all — 'Budstar'), Iryna Dubitska (Leixoes, Portugal), Yuliia Forsyk ('Atletico Torcal', Spain), Daria Kovshik ('Torreblanca Melilla', Spain), Polina Drozd ('Ilfes', Finland), Kseniya Burlachenko, Hristyna Stepanenko, Anastasiia Kalagina, Anna Kaverzina (all — 'Internacional', Portugal).

Photos courtesy of AFA

2025 Women's Futsal World Cup. European Qualifiers. Format

26 teams will compete for four spots in the main and elite rounds.

Participants: England, Belgium, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Gibraltar, Spain, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Northern Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Ukraine, Finland, France, Croatia, Czech Republic, Sweden.

Spain and Portugal have received direct spots in the elite round. If a European team hosts the World Cup, it will receive a direct spot in the final stage.

Main Round (dates of draw and matches to be determined later)

24 teams will be divided into six quartets. The group winners and, if necessary, the best second-place team will advance to the elite round.

Elite Round (dates of draw and matches to be determined later)

Eight teams, including Spain and Portugal, will be divided into two quartets. The top two teams from each group will advance to the final stage.

The first Women's Futsal World Cup will take place in 2025. Sixteen teams will participate in the tournament. The quotas for participation are distributed as follows: Europe — 4, South America — 3, Asia — 3, Africa — 2, CONCACAF — 2, Oceania — 1. Another spot will go to the host country.

After introducing the Women's Futsal World Cup, UEFA will expand the women's futsal Euro to eight teams. The tournament will be held every four years, with the next one taking place in 2027.

As a reminder, Ukraine has finished fourth, third and second respectively at all three European Futsal Championships for women that have been held so far — in 2019, 2022 (rescheduled from 2021) and 2023. Spain won all of them.