U-18: Ukraine's youth team lost to Sweden at a friendly tournament in Croatia

The Ukraine U-18 team (players born in 2008) concluded a friendly tournament held during their training camp in Croatia with a match against the Sweden U-18 team.

U-18: Ukraine's youth team lost to Sweden at a friendly tournament in Croatia

Photo by Andriy Yushchak

The Ukrainian U-18 team (players born in 2008) concluded a friendly tournament held during their training camp in Croatia with a match against the Swedish U-18 team.

In the first match of the tournament, the blue-and-yellow team lost to the home side — 0:2. After that, they defeated Wales — 1:0, so today, on October 14th, in a direct confrontation with Sweden, they fought for second place. At that moment, Croatia had already secured first place by defeating Wales.

The first half was played at an average pace with equal competition and occasional scoring opportunities. Early in the match, goalkeeper Krapivin made a crucial save on a dangerous shot from the corner of the penalty area. The opponents could have capitalized on this but did not take advantage of their opportunity. In response, Martinyuks had a good chance.

The score remained 0-0 at halftime, but shortly after the second half began, Sweden took the lead. After a breakaway down the right flank and a cross in front of goal, Sadaranagani beat the defender on the far post and scored. On the 70th minute, for a foul by Kostyuk inside his own penalty area, the referee awarded a penalty kick which was converted to double Sweden's lead.

Despite their efforts, Ukraine failed to score (with good opportunities for Lysin and Andreyko), while Sweden played defensively and kept their goal "clean" until the final whistle. In the end — 0:2, Ukraine finished in third place.

International Tournament in Croatia

Ukraine (U-18) — Sweden (U-18) — 0:2 (0:0)

Goals: Sadaranagani (47), Sayed (71, from the penalty).

Ukraine (U-18): Krapivin, Kalyuzhnyy, Bugay, Milokost, Yasinskyi (Lysin, 46), Martinyuks (Andreyko, 46), Kostyuk (c) (Sherstyuk, 74), Dzurabaev, Sereda (Fedorenko, 60), Derikon, Mynshykov (Zudin, 46). 

Yellow cards: Krapivin (36) — Sayed (36).

Tournament in Croatia among U-18 national teams

October 8, 2025. Ukraine — Croatia — 0:2

October 8, 2025. Sweden — Wales — 3:1

October 11, 2025. Croatia — Sweden — 3:0

October 11, 2025. Ukraine — Wales — 1:0

October 14, 2025. Croatia — Wales — 1:0

October 14, 2025. Ukraine — Sweden — 0:2

Final Standings

 

Team

M

W

D

L

GD

Pts

1

Croatia

3

3

0

0

6—0

9

2

Sweden

3

2

0

1

5—4

6

3

Ukraine

3

1

0

2

1—4

3

Wales

3

0

0

3

1—5

0

 

Squad of the Ukrainian U-18 team

Goalkeepers: Rostyslav Baglay («Shakhtar» Donetsk), Yegor Klimenko («Rukh» Lviv), Yegor Krapivin («Espanyol», Spain).

Defenders: Yegor Kostyuk, Nikita Kalyuzhnyy, Yaroslav Milokost (all — «Shakhtar» Donetsk), Volodymyr Yasinskyi («Rukh» Lviv), Yegor Sherstyuk («Metalist» Kharkiv), Artyom Muradyan («Borussia» M, Germany), Mykita Melnyk («Napoli», Italy), Timofei Bugay («Ferencvaros», Hungary).

Midfielders: Artem Zubryi, Oleksandr Sereda, Artyom Derikon (all — «Shakhtar» Donetsk), Pavlo Lysin, Arseniy Fedorenko (both — «Dynamo» Kyiv), Muhammad Dzurabaev («Rukh» Lviv), Illia Kut'ya («Hajduk», Croatia), Anton Martinyuks (PSV, Netherlands).

Forwards: Ivan Andreyko («Dynamo» Kyiv), Dmytro Zudin («Hajduk», Croatia), Illia Mynshykov («Austria», Austria).