The women's national team of Ukraine has for the first time in history secured a place in the elite League of Nations, despite losing to Croatia away from home — 0:2.

Head coach Volodymyr Pyatenko shared his impressions of the recent matches against Albania and Croatia on the official website of the UAF:

— As always, I prepared my players to win both games, although the outcome of the first one allowed us to advance a class early. That's why I told the girls: don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

Of course, when results are paramount, there is no room for showmanship. But still, in my opinion, we demonstrated meaningful football against Albanians, skillfully finding free zones near their possessions, confidently handling one-on-one situations. It's important that we didn't get knocked off balance by the goal conceded early on. Our game made a whole impression, and even before halftime, we scored two impressive goals. The most crucial thing is that we controlled the course of events on the field and could add when necessary.

Here's an example: near the end of the match, Albanians missed from a favorable position, and we immediately responded with sharp attacks while opponents were clearing the ball practically from their goal line…

— After securing a convincing victory — 2:1, one could expect that in the final match against Croatia, which had no tournament significance, there would be serious rotation in the lineup…

— You know, I believe all my players deserve to start because they are not only in fighting form but also eager to show their best. That's why before each match, I have a pleasant headache — who to give the edge to. Of course, when determining the lineup, one must consider injuries and suspensions, as well as playing style.

In the match against Croatia, we couldn't count on Lyubov Shmatko, Daria Apanaschenko, and Dayana Semkiv. Also, I wanted to give a chance to players who had less game practice for various reasons.

Of course, it was hard to expect that such drastic changes in personnel would allow us to avoid imbalance. Perhaps this is what the Croatians took advantage of when they opened the scoring: there was space in our defensive zone and no compactness…

But despite not being able to end the tournament on a high note, I have no special complaints about my players. Yes, there were individual mistakes, but the girls tried to act in their own style, were active in transition phases. It's unfortunate that we didn't capitalize on our goal-scoring opportunities as much as the hosts did. Perhaps at the end of attacks, we lacked freshness. On the other hand, the match against Croatia was rich with useful information for us and will give us something to work on. Especially since the level of opponents in the elite League of Nations is significantly higher.

— What's next?

— On Wednesday, we return home via Turkey. And already on June 21st, we will gather for a short training camp because there is a friendly match scheduled with Poland on the 27th.

Group V4 Women's League of Nations-2025

February 21. Albania — Ukraine — 1:2

February 21. Croatia — Czech Republic — 0:4

February 25. Ukraine — Croatia — 2:1

February 25. Czech Republic — Albania — 5:1

April 4. Ukraine — Czech Republic — 1:0

April 4. Albania — Croatia — 4:0

April 8. Czech Republic — Ukraine — 1:1

April 8. Croatia — Albania — 1:2

May 30. Ukraine — Albania — 2:1

May 30. Czech Republic — Croatia — 5:0

June 3. Croatia — Ukraine — 2:0

June 3. Albania — Czech Republic — 1:2

Final Table