In the first round, Oleksandr Sitnik's wards drew with Montenegro (1:1) and then beat Estonia (2:0). To advance to Group A of the second qualifying round, they needed to finish in either first or second place in their group 1. For this, the blue-and-yellow team needed a win or draw against Italy in Tallinn.

In the first half, the Italians had the initiative and delivered three times as many shots on goal compared to Ukraine. On the 34th minute, they converted their advantage into a goal scored by Giuseppe Di Mattei who beautifully aimed his cross-shot right into the top corner of the net. The most active player for our team was Oleh Dziurenets who could have finished one counter-attack but lacked accuracy.

At the beginning of the second half, Ukraine managed to equalize the score. On the 55th minute, Volodymyr Kvikvinia, who had just come on as a substitute, took advantage of an uncoordinated move by Italy's goalkeeper and defender and headed the ball into an empty net. After that, the Italians organized a real siege of Ukraine’s goalposts and created several extremely dangerous moments. Our goalkeeper Denis Stolyarenko kept the team safe for long but at the 85th minute he was powerless when Diego Perillo found himself alone in front of the goal on a scoring position.

So, the defeat — 1:2 — left Ukraine's U-17 squad in third place in group 1. As such, Oleksandr Sitnik’s wards will participate in Group B of the second qualifying round for Euro 2026 (U-17).

Euro 2026 (U-17). First Qualifying Round. Group 1

Ukraine (U-17) — Italy (U-17) — 1:2 (0:1)

Goals: Kvikvinia (55) — Di Mattei (34), Perillo (85).

Ukraine (U-17): Stolyarenko, Pilypiuk, Panchishin, Shupik, Smotrytskyi (Plamynskyi, 80), Rybak (Hordeiev, 88), Shukałowich (c), Dziurenets (Goch, 80), Buravtsov (Kvikvinia, 54), Gura (Gamzik, 54), Serdiuk.

Italy (U-17): Mazzi, Del Fabro (Chiuffi, 88), Varali, Diallo, Bonifazi, Biondini (c), Bafo (Gulianone, 67), Di Mattei (Gecci, 79), Corigliano (Landi, 67), Perillo, Fugazzola (Gasparello, 88).

Yellow cards: Buravtsov (26), Gura (28), Shukałowich (68), Rybak (76) — Di Mattei (64), Biondini (67), Del Fabro (79), Perillo (86).

Estonia — Montenegro — 0:1

October 1, 2025

Italy — Estonia — 8:1

Montenegro — Ukraine — 1:1

October 4, 2025

Montenegro — Italy — 2:1

Ukraine — Estonia — 2:0

Final Standings

Group Composition

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 nation's team, Estonia, also participates in the qualification round.

Based on the results of the first qualifying round, 14 group winners and 14 second-placed teams will advance to Group A of the second qualifying round. The remaining 26 teams will participate in Group B of the second qualifying round.

Teams that make it into the second qualifying round in Group A will compete for seven spots at Euro 2026 (U-17) in spring 2026. Estonia, as the host nation, automatically received a bye pass. It should be noted that this qualification round is also the qualification round for the 2026 UEFA European Under-19 Championship.

Moreover, teams from both Group A and B of the second qualifying round will compete to rise or fall between leagues before the first qualifying round for Euro 2028 (U-19).