The Ukrainian U-16 national team (players born in 2009 or later) continued their participation today at the Four Nations Tournament hosted by Romania.

In the first match, under Oleh Holodyuk's guidance, they lost to Poland (0:1), and today they faced the tournament hosts. 

The first half began with a mistake in defense for the Ukrainians. On the second minute, Arseniy Safonov passed back to Ryan Rusu, who calmly outmaneuvered our goalkeeper — 1:0. The blue-and-yellow team responded aggressively with another attempt by Safonov, but his shot grazed past the post. 

On the 36th minute, a gross error awaited Romania's national team. Adam Guram attempted a shot from the right flank at 20 meters, and the Romanian goalkeeper bizarrely let the ball slip out of his hands straight into their own goal — 1:1. And just four minutes later, our boys took the lead. Nazariy Rudzey stole the ball in the opponent's penalty area on the right side and sent it into the far corner. 

Shortly after halftime, Romania restored parity. After a flank pass, the ball bounced around in our penalty area, and Rusu powerfully struck it home — 2:2. However, at the 61st minute, blue-and-yellow once again took the lead. Artur Kuriahy, who had just come on for one minute, delivered a precise shot into the upper corner past the opponent's goalkeeper. 

On the 80th minute, the Romanian goalkeeper made another mistake after a corner kick, letting the ball slip out of his hands again, and Timofei Solodarenko tapped it in — 4:2. 

Four Nations Tournament. Round 2

Romania (U-16) — Ukraine (U-16) — 2:4 (1:2)

Goals: Rusu (2, 53) — Guram (36), Rudzey (40), Kuriahy (61), Solodarenko (80).

Romania (U-16): Gholde, Vass (Nemchu, 46), Corlat, Kirali, Benche (Stanchu, 84), Niculcha, Moldovan (Telehoi, 66), Gana (Tripon, 66), Rusu, Vaduva (Plascar, 84), Bodnar (Silistra, 46).

Ukraine (U-16): Stryzharenko, Tzarichanskyi, Shukalovich (Plymins'kyi, 60), Levytskyi (Solodarenko, 46), Kovalev (Haponenko, 72), Rybak (Yablonskyy, 72), Rudzey (Trokhym, 60), Safonov (Gurin, 60), Koshtyai (Kuriahy, 60), Guram, Sarichev (Hololobov, 72). 

Yellow card: Trokhym (89).

Poland (U-16) — Montenegro (U-16) — 0:1

Tournament Table

In the next match, Ukraine's U-16 national team will face Montenegro on March 24 (kickoff at 3 pm).

We add that from May 4 to 9, our boys will participate in the UEFA Development Tournament, where they will play against peers from Greece, Finland (hosts), and Hungary.

Recall, on December 5 in Nyon, Switzerland, the draw for the first round of Euro-2026 (U-17) qualification took place. As a result of this draw, Ukraine's U-16 national team ended up in Group 1, where they will face Italy, Montenegro, and Estonia. The host of the mini-tournament will be Estonia.

Schedule of Matches for Ukraine's U-17 National Team

01.10.2025. Montenegro — Ukraine 

04.10.2025. Ukraine — Estonia

07.10.2025. Ukraine — Italy  

Results of the First Round Euro-2026 (U-17) Qualification Draw

Group 1: Italy, Ukraine, Montenegro, Estonia.

Group 2: Czech Republic, Hungary, North Macedonia, Gibraltar.

Group 3: England, Sweden, Lithuania, Scotland.

Group 4: Spain, Denmark, Latvia, Andorra.

Group 5: Belgium, Norway, Belarus, Moldova.

Group 6: Austria, Ireland, Kosovo, Faroe Islands.

Group 7: Serbia, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Malta.

Group 8: Croatia, Netherlands, Albania, Kazakhstan.

Group 9: France, Israel, Romania, Azerbaijan.

Group 10: Switzerland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, San Marino.

Group 11: Northern Ireland, Finland, Cyprus, Armenia.

Group 12: Portugal, Slovenia, Wales, Liechtenstein.

Group 13: Poland, Germany, Luxembourg.

Group 14: Greece, Iceland, Georgia.

54 teams were divided into 12 groups of four participants and two groups of three participants. The host of the final tournament, Estonia's national team, will also participate in the qualification process.

Based on the results of the first round qualification, 14 group winners and 14 teams that finished second will advance to the second round of Group A. The remaining 26 teams will take part in the second round of Group B.

Teams advancing to the second round of qualification in Group A will compete for seven spots at Euro-2026 (U-17) finals in spring 2026. Estonia, as the host of the tournament, received an automatic berth. It should be noted that this qualifying round is also a qualifier for the 2026 UEFA Championship (U-17) in Qatar.

Moreover, teams from both groups of the second qualification round will compete to move up and down between leagues before the first round of Euro-2028 (U-19) qualification.