In their third match at the 2025 World Cup in Chile, Ukraine's U-20 national team defeated Paraguay (2:1) and advanced to the Round of 16 from first place in Group B.

After the match, players Maxim Melnychenko, Matviy Ponomarenko, and Vitaliy Katrich shared their emotions with the press service of the UAF.

Maxim Melnychenko (defender): "Of course, the emotions are extremely positive because we accomplished our task and came out of the group from first place. Naturally, we were interested in who we would play against next. We looked at it but there's still not everything clear, so we have to wait. Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow we will find out our opponent."

Regarding my new partner in the match with Paraguay (Vladyslav Kysil.— Note.), I think Vlad played very well for his debut. He acted confidently, and it was very comfortable to play with him.

It's nice that we felt the support of our fans. They chanted "Ukraine, Ukraine!" as we went forward, and this certainly added positive emotions. At that moment, I wanted to do more and more for our country. 

The city and the stadium where we played also made a good impression on us. So we want to work harder and advance further. With each match comes confidence in ourselves. We play against different opponents, very high-quality ones, but we see that we can beat them, and this inspires us. Any player can come out and strengthen the game. In this match, there was a difficult moment at 1:1, and Ponomarenko's substitution really helped. He came on and scored. This is what an attacker should do.»

Matviy Ponomarenko (forward): "My personal motivation was insane because it was my mother's birthday, and the next day — my girlfriend's. So there was a strong desire to score, win, and advance from the group. Scoring a goal is the best gift I could give myself. Here all teams are very strong, but we have an excellent team. We came here and focused on winning.

We have a strong coaching staff that gives us instructions on what to do and how to do it. He chose the right tactics for each game, studied our opponents, and prepared us for them. After matches, we analyzed them. That's why we're getting these results. I believe every player came out with great motivation because this is a World Cup, an opportunity to show ourselves. And in our country, things are such that we fought for the whole nation, for all of Ukraine. I want to thank everyone who defends our state and gives us the chance to be here.

Regarding coming on as a substitute, we discussed this with the coach beforehand. He told me to get ready. Once again, I emphasize that in this match, I was extremely motivated. I had an opportunity, and I took advantage of it — scored a goal and brought victory to our team.» 

Vitaliy Katrich (defender): "I am incredibly happy that I'm here and that the team won, not just that but came out in first place. Everyone fought hard, tried their best, and I think we deserved it. It was my first time starting, but since all the guys are of the same age, I didn't feel like an inexperienced one. Thank you to the coach for the opportunity. I did my best and hope there will be another chance for me to show myself. 

After the match in the locker room, we had incredible emotions. Everyone was very happy, but we understand that this is not the end but just the beginning. So we're waiting to see who our next opponent will be and will prepare for the encounter with them.

The conditions in Valparaiso are great — a good hotel, a view from the window of the ocean, so I'm glad that we're returning to this city. I hope that our next opponent is Chile's national team because then there would be many fans at the match. In Ukraine, due to the war, we don't have enough of it. During the match with Paraguay, we felt the support of our supporters. We played for all of Ukraine, for our military. They protect us there, and we will protect our homeland here.»