On September 1, the Ukrainian U-17 youth team will begin a training camp dedicated to preparing for the first qualifying round of Euro-2026. In Croatia, Ukraine will play in a tournament featuring teams from Qatar, South Korea, and the UAE. Moreover, all opponents will be represented by players who are one year older. Prior to the training camp, head coach of the blue-and-yellow team Oleksandr Sytnyk answered questions from the official website of the UAF.

— Mr. Oleksandr, for the Croatian camp will the team composition be close to the final one, or are there still possible changes before Euro qualification?

— Now we have taken advantage of the opportunity and called up 25 players for the training camp. We understand that this is the last stage of preparation before official matches, so we want to see as many candidates in action as possible. Moreover, there are still some players under observation. Some are currently injured but remain within our radar. Therefore, changes in the team composition are still possible.

— Are these mostly players from foreign clubs?

— No. There are also players from domestic teams. I won't specify right now, let them work.

— What will the team aim for in matches against Qatar, South Korea, and the UAE?

— We have several tasks. Of course, we need to solidify our team's core. Moreover, we want to see our players in action against strong opponents. Also, we are already planning for the matches that await us in qualification.

— Is it an advantage for Ukraine that the opponents at the Croatian tournament will be one year older?

— Of course. The decision on our participation in these competitions was made very recently. Organizers approached us and offered to come to Croatia. We are grateful that we have an opportunity to play against non-European national teams. This will be invaluable experience for our players, which they would not get from internal matches.

— Will you be playing with a list or do you know something about these opponents?

— Our analytical team has already provided us with the necessary information. However, our main goal is to build our game, from which we will depart in the Euro qualification round.

— Will results take priority now?

— Results are always important. But first and foremost, we need to gather information about the players since some of them will be coming to the camp for the first time. We need to get closer acquainted with them, help the players find a common language on the field. We want to win, but above all, we want the boys to accept the demands of the coaching staff.

Composition of the Ukrainian U-17 Youth Team

Goalkeepers: Dmytro Pozhar ("Dynamo" Kyiv), Denis Stolyarenko ("Legia", Poland), Oleksandr Stepanov ("Shakhtar" Donetsk).

Defenders: Matvii Sorochynskyi ("Dynamo" Kyiv), Nazar Smotrichnyy, Roman Shupik (both — LNZ Chernihiv), Bohdan Levytskyi ("Rukh" Lviv), Markian Panchishin ("Karpaty" Lviv), Nazarii Rudzey ("Borussia" D, Germany), Illia Yablonskyi ("Sporting", Portugal), Denis Plyaminskyi ("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), Ihor Koshty, Maxim Gololobov, Andriy Gamzik (all — "Bayern 04", Germany).

Forwards: Yaroslav Burovtsov ("Dynamo" Kyiv), Danylo Yaschenko (LNZ Chernihiv), Adam Guram ("Hajduk", Croatia), Kirill Serdyuk ("Stuttgart", Germany).

Schedule of Matches for the Ukrainian U-17 Youth Team in Croatia

03.09.2025. Ukraine — Qatar U-18 (18:00)

06.09.2025. Ukraine — South Korea U-18 (16:00)

09.09.2025. Ukraine — UAE U-18 (16:00)

As a reminder, on December 5 in Nyon, Switzerland, the draw for the first round of Euro-2026 qualification (U-17) took place. According to its results, the Ukrainian youth team ended up in Group 1, where they will face Italy, Montenegro, and Estonia. The host of the mini-tournament will be Estonia.

Schedule of Matches for the Ukrainian U-17 Youth 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 and two groups of three participants. The host of the final tournament, Estonia's national team, will also participate in qualification.

Based on the results of the first round of qualification, 14 group winners and 14 teams finishing second will advance to the second round of League A. The remaining 26 teams will take part in the second round of League B.

Teams that make it to the second round of qualification in League A will compete for seven spots at Euro-2026 (U-17) in spring 2026. Estonia, as the host of the tournament, has automatically received a bye-pass. It should be noted that the qualification round in League A is also a qualifying round for the CS-2026 (U-17) in Qatar.

Moreover, teams from both leagues of the second round of qualification will compete to improve and drop between leagues before the first round of Euro-2028 (U-19) qualification.