The head coach of Ukraine's U-17 team Alexander Sitnik spoke about the readiness of his players for the first qualifying round of the European Championship.

On October 1, Ukraine's youth national team (players born in 2010 or later) will start their qualification journey for Euro-2026 (U-17) with a match against Montenegro. The other opponents of the blue and yellow team at this stage will be Estonia (hosts of the matches) and Italy.

Ahead of our team's start in the qualifying round, its head coach Alexander Sitnik answered questions from the official website of the UAF.

— Mr. Alexander, how do you evaluate the readiness of your players for the matches of the first qualifying round?

— We have certain issues with our lineup. They were also present before the previous training camp, which took place in early September in Croatia. Now due to injuries, we will not be able to involve several key players. However, we believe that the footballers called up as replacements will demonstrate all their best qualities and help solve the tasks facing the team.

— Do you have three incomplete training days before the start of the games? On what do you focus in preparing the team for the tournament?

— Some players played matches for their clubs on September 28, while others did not participate in the league. It is important to bring the squad to a common level of physical fitness. We will also discuss our playing principles with the footballers, which we work on at every training camp.

I would like to express my gratitude to all clubs that released their players, as this qualifying round was slightly shifted in dates and does not fall into FIFA's official calendar. However, everyone who we wanted to see has arrived for the national team.

— The midfielder of Barcelona, Artem Ribak, has been called up to the team several times already. Could this be a future star of Ukraine's national team?

— Of course. This is quite an intelligent footballer. Perhaps he still lacks physical strength, but he works diligently on it. In his club, he often participates in matches against older players, and this speaks volumes. For us, he is one of the key players in midfield. We had an agreement with Barcelona that he would not attend the previous training camp but instead be released for the qualifying games. Artem possesses all the qualities to become a strong player.

— What can you say about the opponents?

— It is clear that in our group, we cannot overlook Italy. Moreover, this age group in Italians is rich with talents. It will be interesting to see ourselves against such a strong opponent. Italy — is the favorite of our quartet. Estonia — is a solid team that plays physical football. There is a slight advantage over this opponent because they are the hosts of the matches, which gives them additional motivation — to show themselves in front of their fans. The Ukrainian national team has met with Montenegro at a tournament in Romania. This is a strong team with tall players in its lineup that plays somewhat vertical football.

— What task stands before Ukraine's national team?

— The minimum goal — to come out of the group. And the maximum — to come out of the group in first place, because this gives advantages at the draw for future tournaments.

Composition of Ukraine's U-17 youth national team

Goalkeepers: Oleksandr Stepanov («Shakhtar» Donetsk), Denis Stolyarenko («Legia», Poland), Dmitry Pozhar («Dynamo» Kyiv).

Defenders: Nazariy Smotrytskyi, Roman Shupik (both — LNZ Chernihiv), Markian Panchishyn («Karpaty» Lviv), Denis Plyminskyi («Gajduk», Croatia), Illia Yablonskyi («Sporting», Portugal), Oleh Pylypiuk («Shakhtar» Donetsk).

Midfielders: Stanislav Shukalovich («Shakhtar» Donetsk), Denis Gordiyev, Oleksandr Hoch (both — «Ruh» Lviv), Andriy Hamzik («Bayern», Germany), Yaroslav Kozushko («Slavia», Czech Republic), Danylo Dyachok, Yaroslav Buravtsov (both — «Dynamo» Kyiv), Artem Ribak («Barcelona», Spain).

Forwards: Volodymyr Kvikvinia («Dynamo» Kyiv), Adam Guram («Gajduk», Croatia), Oleh Dziurenets («Ruh» Lviv), Kirill Serdyuk («Stuttgart», Germany).

Recall that in the first qualifying round of Euro-2026 (U-17) Ukraine's youth national team will play in Group 1, where its opponents are Italy, Montenegro and Estonia. Estonia will host this mini-tournament.

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

01.10.2025. Montenegro — Ukraine 

04.10.2025. Ukraine — Estonia

07.10.2025. Ukraine — Italy  

Results of the draw for the first qualifying round of Euro-2026 (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 each and two groups of three participants. The host of the final tournament, Estonia's national team, will also participate in the qualification.

Based on the results of the first qualifying round, 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 the final stage of Euro-2026 (U-17) in spring 2026. Estonia, as hosts of the tournament, automatically received a bye. It is worth noting that this qualifying round in League A also serves as a qualifier for the CS-2026 (U-17) 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.