The head coach of the Ukraine U-17 national team, Oleksandr Sitnik, has summed up his team's performance in the first qualifying round of the European Championship.

The Ukrainian youth team (players born no later than 2010) failed to advance to League A of the second stage of the competition in the first qualifying round for Euro-2026 (U-17), which took place in Estonia, securing third place in their group.

The head coach of the blue-and-yellow team, Oleksandr Sitnik, explained the reasons behind this result to the official website of the Ukrainian Football Association (UAF).

"Mr. Oleksandr, in your opinion, what is the main reason for the unsuccessful qualification results?"

— The first match against Montenegro, which ended in a draw. We were expected to win this game. Our team created numerous opportunities but managed to score only one goal. Ultimately, this draw had an impact on our group's future strength distribution.

"Was there something similar in your coaching career when you scored only once out of 20 shots?"

— Our team was reinforced by substitutions. The boys added intensity. However, in my view, the poor goal conversion rate was due to haste. Initially, when we needed to defend. Then, when we had to score a winning goal. Additionally, there was nervousness from the debut match at the tournament. This excessive eagerness to score overwhelmed them; they lacked calm and composure. As for your specific question, similar incidents have occurred before. But again, Fortune was not on our side.

"Was this draw a key negative factor for the Ukrainian team?"

— Yes. Moreover, no one could anticipate that in the next round Italy would lose to Montenegro with an indisputable advantage — 2:1. In that match, there were many questions about the referee who did not send off a Montenegrin player but booked another footballer instead. The Italians protested, but nothing was resolved. There were days of Montenegro in Estonia.

Also, questionable refereeing occurred in our match against Italy. Perhaps there was an attempt to make amends for the injustice done to the Apennines.

"Can you attribute the match with Italy to your team's credit?"

— This was a decisive game for both us and our opponents. The Italians needed slightly more because they had only a win as an option. A crucial moment in this game might have occurred at the 15th minute when Dzurynets failed to convert a one-on-one opportunity with the goalkeeper. If we scored first, it would have been psychologically difficult for the opposition to recover from the situation, and it would have boosted our confidence. However, we conceded first. It was good that we equalized but ultimately lost — 1:2. Somewhere along the line, we lacked resources due to injuries of key players, as I mentioned earlier about luck. Individually, the Italians are very strong, but we fought until the end and it just wasn't enough for us in those last five minutes.

Photo by UAF press service

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

October 1, 2025

Italy — Estonia — 8:1

Montenegro — Ukraine — 1:1

October 4, 2025

Montenegro — Italy — 2:1

Ukraine — Estonia — 2:0

October 7, 2025

Estonia — Montenegro — 0:1

Ukraine — Italy — 1:2

Final Standings

According to the results of the first qualifying round, 14 group winners and 14 teams that finished second will advance to the second stage in League A. The remaining 26 teams will participate in the second stage in League B.

Teams advancing to the second stage in League A will compete for seven spots at Euro-2026 (U-17) in spring 2026. Estonia, as the host of the tournament, automatically received a bye. It should be noted that this qualifying round is also a qualification round for the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2026 in Qatar.

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