Today, September 5th, the Ukraine youth team will play their opening match in the Euro-2027 (U-21) qualifying tournament — against Lithuania. The game will take place at the LSK "Druskininkai Stadium" in Druskininkai and is scheduled to start at 7:00 PM Kyiv time.

Live broadcast of the match — on the YouTube channel of the UAF.

“It was difficult for us to find enough material on Lithuania, especially considering the transition of players from U-19 to U-21. Nevertheless, this is an organized team with some offensive potential. We must not underestimate our opponent. At the same time, our tasks go beyond a specific result. Many players are making their debut in the youth national team, and we need to lay the foundation for their adaptation as well as continue working on individual progress of the footballers. It is important to see what the team can demonstrate throughout this training camp, not just in the match against Lithuania.”

A good start has great significance. We learned that well after the previous Euro. Of course, a positive result at the beginning will help us in this cycle, especially given the compactness of the group. In any case, it is important for these days to leave a positive impression and for this team and these players to develop together throughout the cycle while also strengthening the national team,” — noted our team's head coach Unai Melgosa yesterday.

Squad of Ukraine Youth Team

Goalkeepers: Vladyslav Krapivcov ("Girona", Spain), Illia Popovich ("Kisvarda", Hungary), Ivan Paholyuk ("Kolos" Kovalyovka).

Defenders: Illia Krups'kyi ("Metalist 1925" Kharkiv), Vyacheslav Kulbachuk ("Debrecen", Hungary), Mykola Kyrychok ("Karpaty" Lviv), Andriy Kytela, Vitaliy Khod (both — "Ruh" Lviv), Mykola Ogarkov ("Oleksandria"), Serhiy Koronyuk ("Polesye" Zhytomyr), Daniil Vernattus ("Metalist" Kharkiv).

Midfielders: Oleh Fedor, Artyom Shakh (both — "Karpaty" Lviv), Roman Salenko ("Zorya" Luhansk), Ramik Gadzhiev ("Metalist 1925" Kharkiv), Timur Tutyurov ("Sunderland", England), Hennadii Sinchuk ("Montreal", Canada), Danylo Krevsun ("Borussia" Dortmund, Germany), Maksym Melnychenko ("Polesye" Zhytomyr), Artem Gusol ("Kolos" Kovalyovka), Ivan Varfolomeev ("Lincoln City", England).

Forwards: Artem Stepanov ("Nuremberg", Germany), Matvii Ponomarenko ("Dynamo" Kyiv), Oleksandr Pyshchur ("Debrecen", Hungary).

Photo by Andriy Garbosky

Schedule of Group N Matches in Euro-2027 (U-21) Qualifying Tournament

05.09.2025. Lithuania — Ukraine

09.09.2025. Lithuania — Hungary

09.09.2025. Turkey — Croatia

10.10.2025. Ukraine — Hungary

10.10.2025. Turkey — Lithuania

14.10.2025. Croatia —Ukraine

14.10.2025. Hungary — Turkey

13.11.2025. Croatia — Lithuania

14.11.2025. Turkey —Ukraine

18.11.2025. Lithuania — Turkey

18.11.2025. Hungary — Croatia

27.03.2026. Ukraine — Lithuania

31.03.2026. Hungary —Ukraine

31.03.2026. Croatia — Turkey

26.09.2026. Ukraine — Turkey

26.09.2026. Croatia — Hungary

01.10.2026. Hungary — Lithuania

02.10.2026. Ukraine — Croatia

06.10.2026. Turkey — Hungary

06.10.2026. Lithuania — Croatia

Draw of Euro-2027 (U-21) Qualifying Tournament

Group A: Spain, Romania, Finland, Kosovo, Cyprus, San Marino.

Group B: Portugal, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Scotland, Azerbaijan, Gibraltar.

Group C: France, Switzerland, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg, Estonia.

Group D: England, Ireland, Slovakia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Andorra.

Group E: Italy, Poland, Sweden, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Armenia.

Group F: Germany, Georgia, Greece, Northern Ireland, Latvia, Malta.

Group G: Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Israel, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Group H: Ukraine, Croatia, Hungary, Turkey, Lithuania.

Group I: Denmark, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Belarus.

Nine groups were formed: six with six teams and three — with five each.

In the final stage of Euro-2027 (U-21), 16 teams will participate: Albania, Serbia, plus 14 others that qualify through the qualifying tournament results (nine group winners, the best team among second-placed finishers and four playoff winners, who play eight second-placed finishers).

Match windows for the group stage of the qualification

2025:

• 17—25 March;
• 2—10 June;
• 1—9 September;
• 6—14 October;
• 10—18 November.

2026:

• 23—31 March;
• 21 September — 6 October.

Playoffs: 9—17 November 2026.

Euro-2027 (U-21) is planned to be held at four stadiums in Albania (Tirana, Shkodër, Elbasan, Rrogozhina) and four — Serbia (Novi Sad, Loznica, Leskovac, Zaječar). The opening match will take place in Serbia, the final — in Albania. We add that according to the results of Euro-2027 (U-21), UEFA Olympic qualifiers will be determined.