Viktor Mykita: "Football during war has become a form of rehabilitation for defenders and a foundation for community development."
U-17: Ukraine draws with Croatia in second friendly match
The Ukraine U-17 team (players born in 2008 or later) played their second friendly against Croatia as part of a training camp.
In the first match on November 12 in Rijeka, Croatia won 2:1. Today, Ukraine had a chance to even score on the same field.
Ukraine held off Croatia’s early momentum, unlike the initial match, leading to a balanced contest. In the 21st minute, Ukraine scored a goal through Pavlo Lyusin, but it was disallowed for offside. Croatia nearly took the lead later in the half, but the post denied them.
Early in the second half, Ukraine created three successive chances, only to be denied by Croatia’s goalkeeper. In the 71st minute, Arseniy Shyshkevych came close again with a header that struck the crossbar. The game ended in a 0:0 draw.
Friendly Match. U-17 National Teams
Croatia U-17 – Ukraine U-17 - 0:0
Croatia U-17: Grahovac, Jakirovic, Kumar, Paisar, Vojvodic, Yaman, Kusanovic, Rados (Lerga, 74), Horvat, Murika, Ivanda.
Ukraine U-17: Kostenko, Kostyuk (Piskun, 66), Muradyan (Zubriy, 66), Kalyuzhnyi (Zalypka, 66), Zudin (Khrunyk, 66), Lyusin (Koshchiy, 66), Mylokost, Solomon, Mustafaiev (Shyshkevych, 66), O. Tkachenko (Petrovskyi, 46), Dzhurabaiev (Sereda, 46).
Booked: Kostyuk (15).
Ukraine recently secured a spot in Round 2 of the EURO 2025 U-17 qualifiers, finishing second in their group, with the next qualification stage set for the spring of next year.
EURO 2025 (U-17). Round 1. Group 4
October 9, 2024
Belgium — Kazakhstan — 3:1
October 12, 2024
Belgium — Kosovo — 2:1
October 15, 2024
Kazakhstan - Kosovo - 4:4
Standings
|
|
Team |
M |
W |
D |
L |
GD |
P |
|
1 |
Belgium |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
7—3 |
9 |
|
2 |
Ukraine |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
8—4 |
6 |
|
3 |
Kosovo |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
7—10 |
1 |
|
4 |
Kazakhstan |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
5—10 |
1 |
The top two teams from each group advance to the second round of qualifiers. Following this, 28 teams will compete in seven groups in League A in spring 2025 for seven spots in the final tournament, to be held in Albania in the summer. The host team automatically qualifies, although they will still participate in the qualifiers.
The remaining teams in the second round will compete in League B, aiming for spots in League A of the first qualifying stage for EURO 2027 (U-19).
It's worth noting that EURO 2024/2025 (U-17) serves as UEFA's qualifying tournament for the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup, featuring 48 teams in Qatar.
