Today, on March 19, the Ukrainian youth team (players born in 2008 or later) will play their opening match of the second qualifying round for Euro-2025 (U-17).

The blue and yellow team has been drawn into Group A1 along with Italy, Croatia, and Slovakia. The matches of this mini-tournament will take place from March 19 to 25 in Croatia. Only the group winner will advance to the final stage.

Our opening match against Croatia will start at 13:00 local time (Kyiv time). A live broadcast will be available on the YouTube channel of the Ukrainian Football Association (UAF).

"There is enough information overall. Our team played two friendlies against Croatia at the end of last year, before my appointment, and there are videos available. Slovakia recently participated in an international tournament in Turkey, while Italy conducted friendly matches with Spain and France. So we have plenty of material to work with. Additionally, all our opponents participated in the first qualifying round for the European Championship."

“As for chances? It's hard to say because in youth football, psychology plays a major role, and whoever handles it better will likely win. Although we often like to compare youth teams with their national senior teams. But I would say this: Italy, Croatia, and Slovakia are good-level teams. They may not have shining stars, but all opponents are balanced both offensively and defensively. On paper, the chances might be slightly higher for Croatia as they play at home, but only the matches will tell. However, I don't think it's wise to count Ukraine and Slovakia out." — noted our team's head coach Oleksandr Sitnik before the tournament.

Photo by Oleg Kozin

Roster of the Ukrainian U-17 Youth Team

Goalkeepers: Kyrylo Khadashevych (“Wolfsburg”, Germany), Yegor Krapivin (“Espanyol”, Spain), Fedir Tkachenko (“Betis”, Spain).

Defenders: Yegor Kostenok, Yaroslav Milokost, Nikita Kalyuzhnyi, Yegor Onyshchuk (all — “Shakhtar” Donetsk), Arsen Zalypka (“Ruh” Lviv), Mykita Melnyk (“Imolese”, Italy), Oleksandr Tkachenko (“Werder Bremen”, Germany).

Midfielders: Pavlo Lysin (“Dynamo” Kyiv), Artem Zubryi, Oleksandr Sereda (both — “Shakhtar” Donetsk), Mukhammed Dzhurabaev (“Ruh” Lviv), Artur Muradyan (“Borussia M’ gladbach”, Germany), Mykola Petrovskyi (“Stuttgart”, Germany), Illia Kut'ya (“Hajduk”, Croatia), Andriy Hamzhyk (“Bayern Munich”, Germany), Arseniy Shishkevych (“Rio Ave”, Portugal).

Forwards: Dmytro Zudin (“Hajduk”, Croatia), Maksym Kucheravyi (“Dynamo” Kyiv).

Photo by Oleg Kozin

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

March 19, 2025

Ukraine — Croatia (Karlovac, 13:00)

Italy — Slovakia (Sesvete, 16:30)

March 22, 2025

Italy — Ukraine (Lutsk, 13:00)

Croatia — Slovakia (Karlovac, 16:30)

March 25, 2025

Croatia — Italy (Lutsk, 16:30)

Slovakia — Ukraine (Sesvete, 16:30)

Match times are in Kyiv time.

Results of the Draw for the Second Qualifying Round of Euro-2025 (U-17)

League A

Group A1: Italy, Croatia, Ukraine, Slovakia.

Group A2: Spain, Austria, Germany, Norway.

Group A3: France, Greece, Denmark, Finland.

Group A4: Portugal, Serbia, Netherlands, Hungary.

Group A5: Czech Republic, Switzerland, Turkey, Sweden.

Group A6: Belgium, Poland, Iceland, Ireland.

Group A7: England, Northern Ireland, Slovenia, Israel.

28 teams were divided into seven groups of four participants each. The seven group winners in League A will earn the right to join Albania as hosts for the final tournament from May 19 to June 1. Seven teams finishing fourth in their respective League A groups will drop down to League B for the first qualifying round of Euro-2027 (U-19).

It should be noted that Euro-2025 (U-17) will serve as a qualifier for UEFA teams for the 2025 World Cup in the U-17 category, which will feature 48 national teams competing in Qatar.

U-17: How Ukraine's Youth Team Can Qualify for the 2025 World Cup