At the EuroLeague Super Final in Viareggio, Italy, Ukrainian women secured third place and bronze medals. In the group stage, blue-and-yellow team placed second in Group B, defeating Italy (4:2) and losing to Spain (2:4). This result qualified them for the semifinals where they lost to Portugal (1:3). In the match for third place, our team managed to draw with Poland (3:3, on penalties — 4:3).

The head coach of the women's national team, Yuriy Klimenko, summed up their performance at the tournament.

"We are actually satisfied with our team's performance considering that we had a tough group. The first match against the hosts, Italy, was crucial. We managed to prepare the girls for this powerful opponent and they fulfilled our instructions and achieved a positive result."

Regarding the second match against Spain, since we already secured a place in the semifinals, we gave all the players an opportunity to play so that we could see their potential and decide which two quartets would be involved in the 1/2-finals.

We also entered the semifinal game balanced and prepared. However, unfortunately, our ability to convert goal-scoring opportunities, of which there were enough to secure a win for us, as well as some refereeing decisions led to our misfortune. We were very disappointed because this year we aimed to reach the final.

It's good that after losing to Portugal, we managed to prepare the girls for the bronze medal match within a day, which was also very important for us. I believe that throughout this game, we dominated Poland in all aspects, but an unclear penalty against us and our own mistake at the end of the match led to a draw. We made use of our chance to win the bronze medals already in the penalty shootout series. Our goalkeeper Anastasiia Teresh helped greatly, as did the girls who scored well, so we secured medals for Ukraine.

I want to note that we prepared for such a scenario. During training sessions, we constantly practice taking penalties and have five-six takers who specifically work on this aspect of the game. So we were ready for a penalty shootout series because it happens quite often in beach soccer.

Regarding the players, I don't want to single anyone out particularly. I would like to thank them all. Some played less, some more, but everyone lived the dream of winning EuroLeague medals, and for the first time in history, it happened. Our previous best achievement was fourth place. Thank you girls for your dedication, attitude, and friendly atmosphere throughout the entire tournament. I wish them success in their clubs because we won't meet again in the national team for almost half a year. Perhaps we will hold a training camp at Kyiv's Hydro Park over winter, but otherwise, the season for the national team is concluded.

Lastly, I want to say something about the situation that arose with our men’s national team in the EuroLeague Super Final. As you know, the boys refused to play a match for third place against Belarus. We had a very friendly atmosphere between the men's and women's teams. We lived in one hotel and supported each other during matches. It's a shame that the boys ended up without medals although they played the tournament quite well. But we fully supported their decision. Football is football, but playing against a team from an aggressor country is unacceptable to us all," — Yuriy Klimenko said.