Viktor Mykita: "Football during war has become a form of rehabilitation for defenders and a foundation for community development."
Dmytro Mykhailenko: "I feel like we’ll face France"
Ukraine U-19 head coach Dmytro Mykhailenko commented on his team’s 3:2 victory over Italy in the third round of the group stage at EURO 2024 (U-19). “I was very calm throughout the match because there was already a lot of emotion on the pitch.
Ukraine U-19 head coach Dmytro Mykhailenko commented on his team’s 3:2 victory over Italy in the third round of the group stage at EURO 2024 (U-19).
“I was very calm throughout the match because there was already a lot of emotion on the pitch. The guys were very excited, and at 2:2, emotions outweighed common sense. So I forced myself to stay calm and keep an eye on the game. We made the necessary changes during the break. Not everything was going our way.
We understood that it didn’t make sense for Italy to use the same lineup for all three matches, especially since they had already advanced to the semifinals and would be playing on natural grass on the 25th. We saw that six or seven Italian players had been working in the gym that morning, so it became clear. But I want to point out that while Italy has players who significantly impact the game, the level of the players who took the pitch today was also very high.
Unfortunately, Matkevych, Ponomarenko, and Vashchenko will miss the next match. These are the rules, and they are quite strange. For instance, two of our players missed the first match against Northern Ireland, which had not played any matches at all, while we had games counted from both the qualifiers and the elite round. But the conditions are the same for everyone...
Achieving our goal of reaching the World Cup and finishing second in the group is certainly a relief for us. If we had finished third, it would have been very difficult, especially with the players who are suspended and injured. We will go into the next match with full intensity but with a sense of having accomplished something.
We were very energized by the support here and from Ukraine. We felt it. We knew we were playing for every Ukrainian. It’s from the heart.
I have watched the matches of both the French and Spanish teams. The French are very strong individually, while the Spanish play more as a team. I have a feeling we’ll face France,” Mykhailenko noted.
Group A: Northern Ireland, Norway, Italy, Ukraine.
15.07.2024
Italy 2:1 Norway
Northern Ireland 0:0 Ukraine
18.07.2024
Norway 0:0 Ukraine
Northern Ireland 0:3 Italy
21.07.2024
Norway 2:0 Northern Ireland
Ukraine 3:2 Italy
Group A standings
| Team | M | W | D | L | GD | P | |
| 1 | Italy | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7—4 | 6 |
| 2 | Ukraine | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3—2 | 5 |
| 3 | Norway | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3—2 | 4 |
| 4 | Northern Ireland | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0—5 | 1 |
Group B: Spain, France, Turkiye, Denmark
16.07.2024
Denmark 1:2 Spain
France 2:1 Turkiye
19.07.2024
Denmark 2:4 France
Turkiye 1:1 Spain
Group B standings
| Team | M | W | D | L | GD | P | |
| 1 | France | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6—3 | 6 |
| 2 | Spain | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3—2 | 4 |
| 3 | Turkiye | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2—3 | 1 |
| 4 | Denmark | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3—6 | 0 |
22.07.2024
Turkiye vs. Denmark (21:00, Belfast)
Spain vs. France (21:00, Larn)
25.07.2024
Playoff for a spot in the 2025 U-20 World Cup
A3 vs. B3 (18:30, Belfast)
Semifinals
Italy vs. B2 (16:00, Belfast)
B1 vs. Ukraine (21:00, Belfast)
28.07.2024
Final
Winner 1 vs. Winner 2 (21:00, Belfast)
Match times are in Kyiv time.
