The second qualifying round of Euro-2025 for women's under-17 teams in Group A ended in Spain, where the Ukrainians' group opponents included Belgium and Iceland.

Head coach Lyudmila Lemesko commented on the official website of the UAF about what helped her players secure third place and maintain their status as one of the top teams:

— We started by figuring out our relationship with the hosts, Spain — the favorites of this mini-tournament. The difficulty was not only in key players being unavailable due to injuries — Anna Avramenko, Evgeniya Kupcova, and Viktoriya Savkina — but also in transitioning from artificial turf, on which we trained, to natural grass. However, the girls endured, worked through 'can't' moments, and managed to put up a fight against the hosts, conceding only narrowly — 1:2.

— What was missing in the next match against Belgium to achieve a positive result?

— This confrontation was more evenly matched. While we barely threatened Spain's goalposts, we created several scoring opportunities against Belgium. However, unlike our opponents, we failed to capitalize on ours. We missed the target, which led to a loss — 0:2. Despite playing according to our scheme of 4-4-1-1, my players' performance was impressive overall.

— In the final match against Iceland, Ukraine needed only a win due to their better goal difference compared to their opponents. Did this prompt you to adopt a more attacking strategy?

— No, there were no such changes. I was confident that our half-backs would not lose control of the ball to Iceland's players. During the setup, I only advised my players to be tough in one-on-one battles because Iceland is physically strong. The girls — great job, they didn't let a goal scored midway through the first half throw them off their game. After halftime, it became easier as we played with the wind at our backs. Our territorial advantage was turned into a goal by Karina Lespukh, who successfully intercepted a pass. On the 87th minute, Daria Kolyodiy delivered a powerful shot from outside the penalty area to force the opposing goalkeeper to capitulate again. The hardest part was yet to come. We had to endure over five minutes of injury time as Iceland pushed forward with everything they had, but we managed it. We secured a 2:1 victory and maintained our place in Group A.

— Do you want to highlight anyone from your players?

— I won't do that. The Ukrainian team in Spain was strong above all as a unit. I am convinced that no one could match their fighting spirit. It's very important that the girls gained valuable international experience.

— What's next?

— The first round of qualifying for the 2025/2026 season starts in the fall. There will be no avoiding personnel changes, as I won't be able to rely on players born in 2008 anymore. In the coming months, we'll focus on selection work to ensure our team has worthy replacements.

Photo by UAF press service

Composition of the Ukrainian Women's Under-17 Team

Goalkeepers: Anna Kharchenko («Vorskla» Poltava), Alina Pasko («Obolon» Kyiv).

Defenders: Anastasiia Belkina («Kryvbas» Kryvyi Rih), Veronika Derevyanko («EMS-Podillia» Vinnytsia), Valeriya Kazyna (Podil DSS «Kyiv»), Elizaveta Girun («OKIP-Polissya» Kyiv), Mariia Osadcha («Sisters» Odessa), Alina Savka («Vorskla» Poltava).

Half-backs: Milena Ivanchenko, Daria Kolyodiy, Polina Nazarenko, Iryna Oliynychenko (all — «Kryvbas» Kryvyi Rih), Oleksandra Pichevska («Yunost» Chernihiv), Daria Artemenko, Zoryana Gladun (both — «Ladomir» Volodymyr), Emilija Kanakhovska («Aurich», Germany).

Forwards: Arina Paskarenko («EMS-Podillia» Vinnytsia), Karina Lespukh («Minay»), Xenia Vorobey («Yunost» Chernihiv), Varvara Kozlyuk («Polissya» Zhytomyr).

Euro-2025 (WU-17). Second Qualifying Round. Group A1

March 8, 2025

Spain — Ukraine — 2:1

Iceland — Belgium — 2:3

March 11, 2025

Spain — Iceland — 1:0

Belgium — Ukraine — 2:0

March 14, 2025

Belgium — Spain — 1:4

Ukraine — Iceland — 2:1

Final Standings

In the second qualifying round, seven teams are determined to join the Faroe Islands in the final stage of the European Championship for women's under-17 teams, as well as teams that will move from one league to another. The seeding for the draw of the second round was based on the positions the teams held at the end of the first round.

In Group A, seven groups are contested by 28 teams, including seven teams that rose from Group B after the first round results. Seven group winners in Group A will earn spots in the final stage, which will take place between May 4 and May 17, 2025. Teams finishing fourth in their groups will start the season-2025/2026 in Group B.

Twenty-one teams in Group B, including those that dropped out after the autumn stage from Group A, are competing in six groups for spots in Group A of the next round's qualifying tournament.

Euro-2025 (WU-17). Second Qualifying Round

Group A1: Spain, Belgium, Iceland, Ukraine.

Group A2: Scotland, France, Wales, Slovakia.

Group A3: Italy, Czech Republic, Croatia, Georgia.

Group A4: Switzerland, Poland, Turkey, Hungary.

Group A5: England, Finland, Netherlands, Sweden.

Group A6: Norway, Portugal, Greece, Serbia.

Group A7: Germany, Austria, Denmark, Kosovo.

Group B

Group B1: Northern Ireland, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Montenegro.

Group B2: Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Azerbaijan, Malta.

Group B3: Belarus, Albania, Israel, Andorra.

Group B4: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Latvia.

Group B5: Ireland, Faroe Islands, Lithuania.

Group B6: Slovenia, North Macedonia, Moldova.

It's worth noting that Euro-2025 (WU-17) will serve as a qualifier for the 2025 World Cup in the WU-17 category, which will take place from October 17 to November 8 in Morocco.