The head coach of Ukraine's under-17 national team, Oleksandr Sitnik, has summed up the team’s performance in the first qualifying round of the European Championship.

Ukraine's under-17 national team (players born no later than 2010) failed to advance to League A of the second stage of competition in the first qualifying round for Euro 2026 (U-17), which took place in Estonia, securing third place in their group.

The head coach of the blue-and-yellow team, Oleksandr Sitnik, explained the reasons behind this result to the official website of the Ukrainian Football Association (UAF).

"Mr. Oleksandr, in your opinion, what is the main reason for the unsuccessful qualification for Euro?"

— The first match against Montenegro, which ended in a draw. We were supposed to win this game. Our team created countless opportunities but managed to score only one goal. Ultimately, this draw affected our strength distribution in the group.

"Was there something similar in your coaching career when you had 20 shots on target and scored just one?"

— Our team was bolstered by substitutions. The boys added intensity. However, in my opinion, the poor goal conversion rate was due to haste. Initially, when we needed to defend. And then, when we needed to score a winning goal. Additionally, there was nervousness from the debut match at the tournament. This excessive desire to score overwhelmed them; they lacked calm and composure. As for your question directly, such situations have occurred before. But again, Fortune was not on our side.

"Was this draw a key negative factor for Ukraine's national team?"

— Yes. Moreover, nobody could have imagined that in the next round Italy would lose to the same Montenegro with an absolute advantage, scoring twice and winning 2-1. In that match, there were many questions for the referee who did not penalize a Montenegrin player but instead booked another footballer. The Italians protested, but nothing was resolved. There were days of Montenegro in Estonia.

Also, questionable refereeing occurred in our game against Italy. Perhaps there was an attempt to make amends for the injustice done to the Apennines.

"Can you attribute the match with Italy to your team's record?"

— This was a decisive game for both us and our opponent. The Italians needed slightly more, as they had only a win in their favor. A crucial moment in this game might have happened on the 15th minute when Dzurynets failed to convert a one-on-one opportunity with the goalkeeper. If we scored first, it would have been psychologically difficult for our opponents to recover from the situation, and it would have given us more confidence. However, we conceded first. It was good that we equalized, but in the end, we lost 1-2. Somewhere we lacked resources due to injuries of key players, and I've already mentioned luck. Individually, the Italians are very strong, but we fought until the end, and it just wasn't enough for us.

Photo by UAF press service

UEFA Euro 2026 (U-17). First qualifying round. Group 1

October 1, 2025

Italy — Estonia — 8:1

Montenegro — Ukraine — 1:1

October 4, 2025

Montenegro — Italy — 2:1

Ukraine — Estonia — 2:0

October 7, 2025

Estonia — Montenegro — 0:1

Ukraine — Italy — 1:2

Final standings

Based on the results of the first qualifying round, 14 group winners and 14 teams that finished second will advance to the second round in League A. The remaining 26 teams will participate in the second round in League B.

Teams advancing to the second round in League A will compete for seven spots at the finals of Euro 2026 (U-17) in spring 2026. Estonia, as the host country, automatically received a bye. It should be noted that this qualifying round is also a qualifier for the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2026 in Qatar.

Moreover, teams from both leagues of the second qualification round will compete for promotion and relegation between leagues before the first round of Euro 2028 (U-19) qualifiers.