The Ukrainian U-18 national team (players born in 2008 or later) has completed its training camp in Italy. The blue and yellow team played two friendly matches (2:2, 1:0) against local under-18s. After returning home, the head coach of the team, Mykhailo Mikhaylenko, answered questions on the official website of the Ukrainian Football Federation.

— Mr. Mykhailo, what do you think about the testing match against the Italian national team?

— Indeed, this was a genuine test against one of the best teams in the world at their age category, a team with great experience and quality players. It was tough for us, but we gained the experience that is lacking in our internal matches.

— Despite it being youth football, successful friendly matches against such a national team like Italy will add confidence to your charges in official games?

— Victory over leading teams is worth much more than victories over weaker teams, as you correctly pointed out. These outings give our boys confidence in themselves, faith in their teammates, and trust in the coaching staff. Such matches are very valuable.

— Did all the players called up make a positive impression on your coaching staff?

— We carefully analyzed the actions of all the players, and we will discuss their performances in due course. Yes, there was a scenario in Italy where we worked a lot without the ball, and we liked how the players received our ideas and demonstrated character.

— You said before this camp that the squad situation could change before qualification. Now do you have a pleasant main concern regarding the selection of performers for official matches?

— We were not allowed to call up several players from abroad because they did not meet UEFA's dates. Almost all the ones we expected to call up from Ukrainian clubs, except for a few who were involved in training with their first-team clubs.

The U-18 national team squad

Goalkeepers: Kyrylo Hadashevych (VfB Stuttgart, Germany), Fedir Tkachenko (Betis, Spain).

Defenders: Egor Kostyuk, Nikita Kaluzhnyi, Yaroslav Mylokhst, Oleksandr Balakai (all from Shakhtar Donetsk), Danylo Ogorodniy (Dynamo Kyiv), Arsen Zalipka (Ruch Lviv), Volodymyr Halyi (Poliha Zhytomyr), Egor Sherstyuk (Metallist Kharkiv), Mykhailo Melnyk (Napoli, Italy).

Midfielders: Artem Zubryy (Shakhtar Donetsk), Pavlo Lysyn, Arseniy Fedorenko (both from Dynamo Kyiv), Muhamed Djurabeyev (Ruch Lviv), Illia Kutiya (Hajduk Croatia), Mykola Tsimbalyuk (Vilnius, Poland).

Forwards: Ivan Andreyko (Dynamo Kyiv), Matviy Bodnar (Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih), Dmytro Zudin (Hajduk Croatia), Vitaliy Glut (Chicago Fire, USA), Kirill Sydoruk (Stuttgart, Germany).

We remind you that in the first round of Euro-2027 (U-19) qualification, the blue and yellow team will play Group A3 together with Czech Republic, Finland, and Estonia. The tournament in our group from March 25 to 31 will be hosted by Finland.

European Championship 2027 (U-19). First round of qualification

Liga A

Group A1: Belgium, Slovenia, Sweden, Cyprus.

Group A2: Italy, Ireland, Poland, Scotland. 

Group A3: Czech Republic, Finland, Ukraine, Estonia.

Group A4: Germany, Austria, Israel, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Group A5: England, Croatia, Spain, Bulgaria.

Group A6: Portugal, Serbia, Greece, Kazakhstan. 

Group A7: France, Switzerland, Hungary, Wales.

Liga B

Group B1: Denmark, Romania, Andorra, Liechtenstein.

Group B2: Turkey, Kosovo, Armenia, Gibraltar.

Group B3: Slovakia, Belarus, Latvia, San Marino.

Group B4: Norway, Albania, Luxembourg, Malta.

Group B5: Netherlands, Faroe Islands, North Macedonia, Moldova.

Group B6: Northern Ireland, Lithuania, Azerbaijan.

Group B7: Iceland, Montenegro, Georgia.

Qualification to the second round

After completing the first round, teams advance as follows:

• Teams that occupy 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in Liga A stay in Liga A for the second round;
• Teams that occupy 4th place in Liga A move to Liga B for the second round;
• Winners of groups in Liga B are promoted to Liga A for the second round;
• Teams that occupy 2nd, 3rd and 4th places in Liga B stay in Liga B for the second round.

Teams that played each other in the first round will not meet again in the second round.