Alexander Soroka: "Wishes and belief in ourselves are very great"

— What is the main thing about our team: quality, character or desire?
The whole package. There's good quality here, and a huge desire among the boys. Every day we strive for this, and we transfer it to the football field.

— Before the start of the tournament, no doubt all eight national teams said they wanted to win the European Championship. You also wanted that. Now is this not just talk but real belief in ourselves?
Of course, it's like that now. We've shown a pretty good level over these tournaments, we've won matches, so now our wishes and belief in ourselves are very great.

— What is the mood like in the team right now? Is there any fatigue?
Of course, some fatigue exists after games. They were intense, but we recover quickly and try to show our maximum.

Bohdan Popov: "We were more compact than our opponents"

— What allowed us to qualify for the World Cup in advance?
I think it was due to character. If we look at other teams, we were more compact and wanted this more. We wanted to win these matches and move forward.

— At the beginning of the tournament everyone said they wanted to win the European Championship. How do those words then and now differ?
Yes, they are different, one hundred percent. Before the championship, honestly, there wasn't such confidence that everything would turn out this way. Even though it may look easy, but in reality, it's not — it's football.

Danilo Malov: "If we become champions, I'll get a tattoo on my face"

— They say you made a promise: if we make it to the European Championship, you would do something. What was that? How did this come about?
In Albania, after passing the first qualification round, I agreed with the boys that if we got to the Euros, I would shave my head like Marcelo. At the time, I had long hair.

— Now we are at the Euros, we've come out of the group stage, in the semifinals, qualified for the World Cup. Are you ready to make a new promise? And if so, what would it be?
I already have. Although my mom will probably get upset again. If we win this Euro, I agreed that I'll get a tattoo on my face:

Champions of Europe and the flag of Ukraine.

This is just part of a big interview with players from the U-19 national team. More about the footballers themselves, their professional path, and future plans can be seen in a large release from the team's blog.