Following the draw, the blue-yellow squad landed in Group 7 alongside Switzerland, North Macedonia, and Latvia. Under the guidance of coach Dmytro Mykhailenko, the team faced the hosts of the mini-tournament in Skopje at the FFM Training Centre.

The first half saw a tightly contested battle with Ukraine having the upper hand. Dangerous attempts came from Krevsun with a header, while Hadzhyev and Synchuk tested the opponent's goalkeeper. Just before halftime, Krevsun broke the deadlock with a close-range shot after a corner kick.

Shortly after the break, Ponomarenko extended Ukraine's lead with a precise strike from outside the box. North Macedonia responded with inaccurate attempts from Nazifi and Gjorgievski. The home side was reduced to ten men late in the game, allowing Ukraine to comfortably maintain their 2-0 lead until the final whistle.

Next up, Mykhailenko's team will face Latvia on March 23rd.

Euro 2024 (U-19). Elite qualifying round. Group 7

20.03.2024

North Macedonia (U-19) - Ukraine (U-19) - 0:2 (0:1)

Goals: Krevsun (45+1), Ponomarenko (48).

North Macedonia (U-19): Yakimov, Arizankoskiy (Serafimov, 68), Melich, Stoilevski, Djekov, Aliji (Nikolovski, 61), Zendelovski, Gjorgievski, Kaba (Nuhija, 68), Kankoski (Danev, 61), Nazifi.

Ukraine (U-19): Krapyvstov, Drozd, Melnychenko, Mykhavko, Oharkov, Hadzhyev (Tsukanov, 65), Vashchenko, Krevsun (Badenko, 87), Synchuk (Shevchenko, 79), Ponomarenko (Dubrovnyi, 79), Tutierov (Matkevych, 65).

Yellow cards: Djekov (5), Aliji (32), Nuhija (73), Nikolovski (73) - Synchuk (34), Ponomarenko (37), Oharkov (44), Mykhavko (90+3).

Sent off: Melich (75, second yellow).

Switzerland - Latvia - 1:0 (0:0)

Standings

March 23, 2024:

Switzerland vs North Macedonia (15:00)

Ukraine vs Latvia (15:00)

March 26, 2024:

Ukraine vs Switzerland (15:00)

Latvia vs North Macedonia (15:00)

All match times are in Kyiv local time.

The draw for the Euro 2024 Elite Qualifying Round has divided 28 teams into seven groups, with matches scheduled to take place in March. The group winners of the Elite Qualifying Round will advance to the final stage, which will be held from July 15th to 28th, 2024, in Northern Ireland. This serves as UEFA's qualification for the 2025 U-20 World Cup.

Euro 2024 (U-19) elite qualifying round groups:

Group 1: Spain, Austria, Kosovo, Slovenia

Group 2: Netherlands, Belgium, France, Lithuania

Group 3: Norway, Israel, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro

Group 4: Portugal, Denmark, Serbia, Greece

Group 5: Scotland, Czechia, Georgia, Italy

Group 6: Turkey, Germany, Croatia, Romania

Group 7: Switzerland, Ukraine, North Macedonia, Latvia

Reminding that, under the guidance of Oleg Kuznetsov, Ukrainians secured first place in their qualification round group.