The day before the third match of Ukraine's U-21 team at Euro 2025 against the Netherlands, head coach Unai Melgosa participated in a traditional press conference.

— What are your expectations for tomorrow's match? Are you hoping for a draw or do you plan to play for victory?

— I understand that all teams sometimes face this choice. We will be playing to win, because it’s very difficult to maintain a draw for 90 minutes. Right now, we are more focused on the game itself rather than the final result, as if you only think about the score, you might miss many important things. We expect a good match against such a strong opponent as the Netherlands.

— Do you believe that your team after two matches has a psychological advantage over the Netherlands, who currently hold third place?

— Well, I don't know! Not only me but all coaches at press conferences answer questions like "what are your expectations?", "how do you think?" or "better or worse?". But honestly, these are not real stories, just their imagination. All I know is that tomorrow we have to fight, show our best game and be a united team. We want to advance in this tournament, and tomorrow we will have a good chance for it.

— What's the current squad situation? Are there any losses or injuries? How is Illia Krups'kyi feeling?

— We have a loss, as you know, Volodymyr Brazyk due to a red card. Almost all other players are currently feeling fine. However, some of the performers arrived at the camp with minor injuries and need time to recover, so they're not 100% ready.

— Yegor Yamoluk is the only player in your team from England's Premier League. What’s his mental level and what does he mean for your team?

— Yegor is a very good guy. He listens to our instructions, so we communicate with him normally. He is fully open to this. That's the most important thing for me. On the other hand, he’s quite useful on the field, creating opportunities. This player works hard during the match and doesn't slack off. I think it's great that he's in our team as he can really help us. Tomorrow will be a good opportunity for him to do his part on the pitch.

Ukraine U-21 Squad for Euro 2025

Goalkeepers: 1. Ruslan Nescheret («Dynamo» Kyiv), 12. Georgiy Yermakov («Oleksandria»), 23. Vladyslav Krapivcov («Girona», Spain).

Defenders: 2. Konstantin Vycharenko, 4. Taras Mykhavko (both — «Dynamo» Kyiv), 3. Illia Krups'kyi («Vorskla» Poltava). 5. Artem Smolyakov («Los Angeles», USA), 13. Volodymyr Salyuk («Metalist 1925» Kharkiv), 14. Eduard Kozik («Kolos» Kovalivka), 15. Vitaliy Roman («Ruh» Lviv), 16. Arsenii Batagov («Trabzonspor», Turkey).

Midfielders: 6. Volodymyr Brazyk, 9. Nazar Voloshyn, 21. Maxim Bragaru, 22. Valentyn Rubchynskyy (all — «Dynamo» Kyiv), 7. Illia Kvasnitsya, 8. Oleksandr Ocheret'ko (both — «Karpaty» Lviv), 17. Yegor Yamoluk («Brentford», England), 18. Oleksandr Yazik («Zorya» Luhansk), 19. Anton Tserenko («Lechia», Poland), 20. Vladyslav Velentyn («Kolos» Kovalivka).

Forwards: 10. Bohdan Vyunnyk («Lechia», Poland), 11. Vladyslav Vanat («Dynamo» Kyiv).

Group D: Finland, Netherlands, Ukraine, Denmark.

12.06.2025

Ukraine — Denmark — 2:3

Finland — Netherlands — 2:2

15.06.2025

Finland — Ukraine — 0:2

Netherlands — Denmark — 1:2

18.06.2025

Denmark — Finland (19:00)

Netherlands — Ukraine (19:00)

Tournament Table

Quarter-finals

21.06.2025

1. C1 — D2 (Zilina, 19:00)

2. A1 — B2 (Trnava, 22:00)

22.06.2025

3. B1 — A2 (Dunajska Streda, 19:00 or 22:00)

4. D1 — C2 (Presov, 19:00 or 22:00)

Semifinals

25.06.2025

5. Winner 1 — winner 2 (Bratislava, 19:00 or 22:00)

6. Winner 3 — winner 4 (Kosice, 19:00 or 22:00)

Final

28.06.2025

Winner 5 — winner 6 (Bratislava, 22:00)

Match times are in Kyiv time.