The head coach of Ukraine's futsal team Oleksandr Kosenko commented on the crushing victory over Cyprus (11:1), which allowed the team to qualify for Euro-2026 ahead of schedule.

— Mr. Oleksandr, we congratulate you on such a convincing victory. Did you set the boys the task of outscoring their first match against Cyprus (in the 1st round in Nicosia Ukraine won — 7:0. — Note.)?

– No, the task was to win and gain additional confidence. To play a game that would please the fans, to play for the spectators, to play for themselves, to get satisfaction. If the game goes well, you need to keep playing until the end.

— How can you evaluate Yuri Sagaydachny's debut, as well as the performance of players who received less playing time?

— Everyone played well. Of course, we will review the match, there are no mistakes in a game. But everyone was great, everyone played with inspiration and self-sacrifice, one for another.

— Regarding the mistakes... In fact, the game was decided quite quickly, but still you took a timeout later on. Did you notice any flaws in the team's play?

– No, we just took a timeout for a set piece. The boys wanted to execute it and asked me to take a timeout. There was no need for a timeout because the game was going well.

Recall that by winning their fifth round match in Euro-2026 futsal qualification against Cyprus (11:1), Ukraine's national team secured their place at the final tournament, which will take place from January 20 to February 7 next year on courts in Latvia's Riga and Lithuania's Kaunas.

Earlier, blue-and-yellow confidently won four matches — against Cyprus (7:0), Romania (2:0) and Germany (5:3, 9:0). The second crushing victory over Cyprus, after Romania's loss to Germany, secured our team a spot at the European Championship.

In the final group match, which no longer has tournament significance for Oleksandr Kosenko's wards, they will face Romania. The nominal home game will take place in Poland's Koszalin on April 15 (kick-off — at 7 PM Kyiv time).

The draw for the final tournament is scheduled for October 24. During the ceremony at 'Žalgiris Arena' in Kaunas, four groups of four teams will be formed, and then the top two teams from each quartet will proceed to the quarter-finals.

Sixteen participants will take part in Euro-2026: Latvia and Lithuania as hosts, winners of 10 group stages (besides Ukraine, Portugal, Slovenia, Poland, Croatia, Czech Republic, Armenia, Belarus have already qualified), and four winners of the play-off matches involving eight best second-placed teams. The main round will end on April 16. The draw for knockout matches will take place on May 21, with games — from September 15 to September 24.