Vbet UPL 2025/26, Round 30: Commentaries on episodes from the UEFA Committee of Arbiters
Today, September 3, Ukraine's U-17 youth team (players born in 2009)
Photo by the press service of the UAF
Today, September 3rd, the Ukrainian U-17 team (players born in 2009 and younger) will play their first match at an international tournament in Croatia. The opponent is Qatar's U-18 team, kickoff at 6 PM Kyiv time.
Live broadcast of the match — on the YouTube channel of the Ukrainian Football Association (UAF).
In total, in Croatia, Ukrainians will participate in competitions against teams from Qatar, South Korea, and the UAE. Moreover, all opponents will be represented by players who are one year older.
"Now we have taken advantage of this opportunity to call up 25 footballers for training. We understand that this is the last stage of preparation before official matches, so we want to see as many candidates as possible in action. We have several tasks. Of course, we will form the core of our team. Also, we would like to see how our players perform against opponents at a high level. Additionally, we are already planning our actions for upcoming qualification matches," — noted head coach Oleksandr Sytnyk the day before.
Goalkeepers: Dmytro Pogor (“Dynamo” Kyiv), Denis Stolyarenko (“Legia”, Poland), Oleksandr Stepanov (“Shakhtar” Donetsk).
Defenders: Matvii Sorochinskyi (“Dynamo” Kyiv), Nazar Smotrichkyi, Roman Shupik (both — LNZ Chernihiv), Bohdan Levytskyi (“Rukh” Lviv), Markian Panchyshyn (“Karpaty” Lviv), Nazarii Rudzey (“Borussia” Dortmund, Germany), Illia Yablonskyi (“Sporting”, Portugal), Denis Plyminskyi (“Hajduk”, Croatia).
Midfielders: Yevhenii Voloshko, Semen Komon, Arseniy Safonov, Stanislav Shukalovich (all — “Shakhtar” Donetsk), Danylo Udovenko (LNZ Chernihiv), Denis Gordiiev (“Rukh” Lviv), Yaroslav Kozushko (“Slavia”, Czech Republic), Yegor Koshtii, Maxim Gololobov, Andriy Hamzhy (all — “Bayern 04”, Germany).
Forwards: Yaroslav Buravtsov (“Dynamo” Kyiv), Danylo Yaschenko (LNZ Chernihiv), Adam Guram (“Hajduk”, Croatia), Kirill Serdyuk (“Stuttgart”, Germany).
03.09.2025. Ukraine — Qatar U-18 (6 PM)
06.09.2025. Ukraine — Poland U-18 (4 PM)
09.09.2025. Ukraine — UAE U-18 (4 PM)
Recall that on December 5 in Nyon, Switzerland, the draw for the first round of qualification for Euro 2026 (U-17) took place. According to its results, the Ukrainian youth team ended up in Group 1, where it will face Italy, Montenegro, and Estonia. The host of the mini-tournament will be Estonia.
Schedule of matches for the Ukrainian U-17 team in the first round of Euro 2026 qualification
01.10.2025. Montenegro — Ukraine
04.10.2025. Ukraine — Estonia
07.10.2025. Ukraine — Italy
Results of the draw for the first round of Euro 2026 qualification (U-17)
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 each and two groups of three participants. The host of the final tournament, Estonia's team, will also participate in the qualification process.
Based on the results of the first round of qualification, 14 group winners and 14 teams that finish second will advance to the second round of Group A. The remaining 26 teams will compete 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) 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 CS 2026 (U-17) in Qatar.
Moreover, teams from both groups will compete to improve or drop between leagues before the first qualification round of Euro 2028 (U-19).