The Ukrainian youth team (players born in 2009 or later) returned home after a Croatian training camp, where they played three friendlies. About how this training went, the head coach of the blue-and-yellow team Oleksandr Sitnik told the official website of the UAF.

— Mr. Oleksandr, what is your summary of the recent training camp?

— As I said, we had several tasks at this camp. First and foremost, it was preparation for the qualification round of Euro-2026 (U-17). Also, in this age group, selection is ongoing. We needed to see new players, understand their current state, so as to know who we can rely on in official matches. So our work turned out to be informative. It was not bad that we faced opponents older than our footballers, who were physically stronger and faster. In such a situation, it's easier to see how the players make decisions on the field.

— Initially, there was supposed to be a South Korea team at the matches, but they were replaced by Poland. Why?

— I will say right away that I would not call our matches tournament-level, as there were nearly 20 teams of 18 and 19 years old for whom this mini-camp was organized in Croatia. We received an invitation at the last minute (after a refusal, if I am not mistaken, from Zambia's team) and we were the youngest in what you could call a camp. There were just friendly matches being played. Due to their younger age, the Koreans declined to play against us. So it was proposed that we play against Poland. Qatar did not want this either, but after the match they left satisfied.

— Did we concede too much — seven goals?

— Despite these being friendly matches, we took note of this fact. Again, there is information that needs to be properly analyzed and corrected for mistakes. We gave all the footballers a chance to play so as to have a full picture. If results had been our top priority, then the strategy would have been different, and the lineup would have been more balanced. Some players showed better perseverance with their playing time, others — not quite. We see what problems we have in terms of gameplay and selection. Not everyone performed at their best.

— At the camp you involved all the footballers, but only nine of them participated in all matches. Will this be the core?

— The core is forming for us, but I would not rush to conclusions yet because at previous camps we were unable to involve key players due to various reasons. These are Ribak (Barcelona), Trokhym and Onyshchuk (Shakhtar), Huryin and Kvikviniya (Dynamo) — all main team members. The situation with them is complicated, as it's still unclear who of the last four will recover from injuries in time for the qualification round. Moreover, at the last camp we lost Voloshchuk due to a collarbone fracture. We have another couple of weeks to finally decide on those we can rely on in Estonia.

— When does the preparation before the qualification start?

— September 27. The next day, we plan to arrive at the venue. So we will have only three full training days.

International youth team tournament in Croatia

03.09.2025. Qatar (U-18) — Ukraine (U-17) — 2:1

06.09.2025. Ukraine (U-17) — Poland (U-18) — 2:2

09.09.2025. Ukraine (U-17) — UAE (U-18) — 0:3

As a reminder, the results of the first round draw for Euro-2026 (U-17) qualification placed Ukraine's youth team in Group 1 where they will face Italy, Montenegro and Estonia. The host country is Estonia.

Schedule of matches for Ukraine's U-17 national team

01.10.2025. Montenegro — Ukraine 

04.10.2025. Ukraine — Estonia

07.10.2025. Ukraine — Italy  

Results of the first round draw for Euro-2026 (U-17) qualification

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 country for the final tournament, Estonia's team, will also participate in the qualification.

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

Teams advancing to the second round qualification in League A will compete for seven spots at Euro-2026 (U-17) finals in spring of 2026. Estonia, as tournament hosts, received an automatic bye-pass. It should be noted that this qualifying round is also a qualifier for the CS-2026 (U-17) in Qatar.

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