The Ukrainian U-20 national team ended their World Cup campaign in the round of 16 after losing to Spain with a score of 0:1. However, this tournament can be considered successful for our team, which, despite difficult circumstances in the country and certain misfortunes with its lineup, advanced from first place in its group, ahead of Paraguay (2:1), South Korea (2:1), and Panama (1:1).

The official website of the Ukrainian Football Association asked their head coach, Dmitry Mykhaylenko, to sum up the team's performance.

— Mr. Dmitri, how would you summarize the performance of the Ukraine national team at the World Cup?

— I think that for their results in Chile, the team deserves a solid four out of five. The first thing we pay attention to is the quality of play, which was quite good. There was also a good result during the group stage. In this part of the tournament, only two teams performed better (Japan and Argentina both scored nine points). Unfortunately, fate decided that in the round of 16, we had to face Spain — one of the best teams in Europe and among the top teams in the world. But again, I thanked my players who tried not just to play but also to show meaningful football at this tournament.

— Which match was the most difficult for you?

— Of course, against Spain. It's very hard to compete with the Spaniards considering their individual skill level. However, we wanted to create more discomfort for our opponents near their goalposts. In my opinion, our boys rushed a bit in this regard and there was noticeable nervousness. We adapted to the pace of play and speed of ball handling around the 15th minute mark and, generally speaking, did not allow the opponent to create many scoring opportunities, except towards the end of the match when we took some risks.

— Our national team at this tournament made 48 shots on goal, but only 13 were on target...

— The first three games in the group stage, we hit the target at a normal level. In the last match against Spain, indeed, out of nine attempts, only one was on target, which somewhat skewed the statistics. But four matches are not enough to draw significant conclusions from the statistics. I attribute this performance in the match with Spain to the players' nervousness.

— All five games were played by Vladyslav Krapivcov, Maxim Melnychenko, and Oleksiy Husev. Were these the people you had the least complaints about?

— The matter is not that there were no complaints against them, although they played at a high level. They were simply key players in their positions on the field. The World Cup roster consists of 18 footballers, and replacements weren't available for every position.

— In attack, you relied more on Pyszur. Why not Ponomarenko?

— The difference was in physical condition. Pyszur had a bit more playing time during the fall season and was in better game shape according to our assessment. However, we warned both players that they would be substituting each other due to games every two days, which makes recovery difficult. Overall, this is an issue for the national team: not many players have stable playing practice.

— Are there any boys who pleasantly surprised you during the tournament?

— I cannot single out one or two footballers. Throughout the entire tournament, a great atmosphere prevailed in the team. Although this somewhat surprised me because not everyone knew each other beforehand. And this unity was reflected on the field. Each player gave their maximum effort. The potential of this team was much greater than what we showed after that round when we concluded our competition. Again, if fate had been more favorable to us, we could have even reached the final.

— Of course, one man cannot fight alone, but Sinchuk's disqualification caused a stir. Can you explain what really happened?

— I received information about Sinchuk an hour before the match against Spain. My mind was preoccupied with other matters rather than resolving this issue. Once back in Ukraine, in a calm environment, we will figure out how it all happened.

Photo by Andriy Yushchak

Ukraine's Path to the 2025 World Cup (U-20)

September 27, 2025. South Korea — Ukraine — 1:2

September 30, 2025. Panama — Ukraine — 1:1

October 3, 2025. Ukraine — Paraguay — 2:1

October 7, 2025. Ukraine — Spain — 0:1

Roster of the Ukrainian U-20 National Team

Goalkeepers: 1. Stanislav Vaniyvskyi («Stal» Zhydachiv, Poland), 12. Vladyslav Krapivcov («Girona», Spain), 16. Markian Bakus (LNZ Chernihiv).

Defenders: 3. Kyrylo Dytchyar, 13. Daniel Vernattus (both — «Metalist» Kharkiv), 4. Mykola Kyrichok («Karpaty» Lviv), 5. Vladyslav Kisil («Ponferradina», Spain), 6. Maxim Melnychenko («Polissya» Zhytomyr), 17. Maxim Derkach («Tukums 2000», Latvia), 20. Oleksiy Husev («Kudryvka»).

Midfielders: 10. Hennadiy Sinchuk («Montreal», Canada), 11. Danylo Krevsun («Borussia» Dortmund, Germany), 7. Artur Shah («Karpaty» Lviv),  18. Bohdan Budko (AZ, Netherlands), 8. Daniil Vashchenko («Oleksandria»), 21. Matviy Panchenko («Metalist 1925» Kharkiv), 14. Kristian Shevchenko («Watford», England), 2. Vitaliy Katrych («Inhulets» Petrove), 15. Yaroslav Karaman («Polissya» Zhytomyr).

Forwards: 9. Matviy Ponomarenko («Dynamo» Kyiv), 19. Oleksandr Pyszur (ETO, Hungary).