At the EuroLeague 2025 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 after defeating Italy (4:2) and losing to Spain (2:4). This result qualified them for the semi-finals 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 rather tough group. The first match against the hosts, Italy, was crucial. However, we managed to prepare the girls for such a strong opponent and they fulfilled our instructions and achieved a positive result.

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

We also entered the semi-final match balanced and prepared. Unfortunately, our ability to capitalize on goal-scoring opportunities, of which there were enough to close out the game in our favor, as well as some refereeing decisions that led to our misfortune, cost us. We were very disappointed because this year we aimed for a final appearance.

It was 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 inexplicable penalty against our goalkeeper and a mistake at the end of the match led to a draw. We took advantage of our chance for bronze in the penalty shootout series. Our goalkeeper Anastasiya Teresh helped greatly, and the girls also scored well, so they won medals for Ukraine.

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

As for the players, I don't want to single anyone out specifically. I would like to thank them all. Some played less, others more, but everyone lived the dream of winning EuroLeague medals, and this happened for the first time in our history. Our previous best 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 as a national team for almost half a year. Perhaps we will hold a training camp at Kyiv's Hydropark this winter, but otherwise, the season for the national team is over.

Finally, I want to say something about the situation 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 is unfortunate that the boys ended up without medals although they played the tournament quite well. But we fully supported their decision. Football is football, but it’s not nice to play against a team from an aggressor country. This was clear to all of us," said Yuriy Klimenko.