The head coach of Ukraine's youth team (players born in 2007 or later), Dmitry Mykhaylenko, spoke about the team's readiness for the Euro-2026 (U-19) qualification round.

In just two days, Ukraine's U-19 youth national team will begin their participation in the Euro-2026 qualification round. The blue and yellow team will face Albania, Montenegro, and Slovakia at this stage of the competition.

Ahead of the tournament start, head coach Dmitry Mykhaylenko answered questions from the official website of the UAF.

— Mr. Dmitry, what is the mood before the official matches, and did you manage to get all players into the squad?

— Everything is good, all boys are eager to perform at their best. As for personnel potential, practically everyone we wanted to see is in the lineup. Only Artem Stepanov was called up by the youth national team because he is currently more needed there, and Bogdan Olichenko suffered an injury, so we urgently need to find a replacement for him.

— How well have you studied your opponents?

— We have enough information about the opponents in our coaching staff. In our group, all teams are roughly at the same level.

— Can the blue and yellow team be called favorites of the quartet?

— On paper, perhaps it looks that way, but only the matches themselves will show what each team is worth. Football evens things out. If earlier we easily passed some opponents with teams of different age categories, then now a lot has changed, competition has increased.

— Is it difficult to start the tournament with a match against the host (the Albanian team)?

— For me, this is not important. I believe in my players and our game plan. If the team plays at its true level, everything will be fine.

— The primary task of Ukraine's national team — to come out first or just advance to the next stage?

— Our goal is to qualify for the next round of the European Championship qualification. And from which position, this is not so important.

Ukraine's U-19 squad

Goalkeepers: Nazariy Domchak («Karpaty» Lviv), Yevhen Morozov («Zurich», Switzerland), Illia Voloshin («Real Madrid», Spain).

Defenders: Yuri Kokodyanyak («Karpaty» Lviv), Kiryl Dytiar, Yegor Shershuk (both — «Metalist» Kharkiv), Yaroslav Milokost, Mykhailo Reshetnykov, Nikita Kalyuzhniy (all — «Shakhtar» Donetsk), Danylo Malov («Olimpia» Ljubljana, Slovenia), Kostiantyn Hubenko («Dynamo» Kyiv).

Midfielders: Bogdan Redushko («Dynamo» Kyiv), Oleksandr Kamenskyi («Kryvbas» Kryvyi Rih), Vladyslav Tytyunov («Shakhtar» Donetsk), Oleksandr Soroka («Gent», Belgium), Oleksandr Feshchenko («Obolon» Kyiv), Zakhary Baumann («Norwich City», England), Bogdan Olichenko («Bayern Munich», Germany).

Forwards: Bogdan Popov («Empoli», Italy), Yaroslav Boyko («Valencia», Spain), Dmytro Bogdanov («Union Berlin», Germany).

As a reminder, according to the qualification round draw results for Euro-2026 (U-19), Ukraine's youth national team was placed in Group 5 with Montenegro, Slovakia, and Albania.

The tournament in this group will take place in Albania from November 12th to 18th.

Here is the schedule and locations of matches in our quartet for your attention.

Euro-2026 (U-19). Qualification Round. Group 5

November 12, 2025

Montenegro — Slovakia (Rrogocine, 13:00)

Ukraine — Albania (Durrës, 15:00)

November 15, 2025

Ukraine — Montenegro (Rrogocine, 13:00)

Slovakia — Albania (Durrës, 15:00)

November 18, 2025

Slovakia — Ukraine (Rrogocine, 15:00)

Albania — Montenegro (Durrës, 15:00)

Results of the qualification round draw for Euro-2026 (U-19)

Group 1: Ireland, Netherlands, Cyprus, Kazakhstan.

Group 2: France, Hungary, Bulgaria, Faroe Islands.

Group 3: Turkey, Greece, Belarus, Liechtenstein.

Group 4: Israel, Austria, Slovenia, Luxembourg.

Group 5: Ukraine, Slovakia, Montenegro, Albania.

Group 6: Serbia, Croatia, Georgia, Gibraltar.

Group 7: Romania, Iceland, Finland, Andorra.

Group 8: England, Scotland, Latvia, Lithuania.

Group 9: Italy, Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova.

Group 10: Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden, San Marino.

Group 11: Portugal, Belgium, North Macedonia, Estonia.

Group 12: Norway, Germany, Armenia, Kosovo.

Group 13: Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Malta, Azerbaijan.

52 teams are divided into 13 groups of four participants each. The host nation's team, Wales, received an automatic berth for this tournament, while Spain will enter the elite round qualification.

Based on the results of the qualification round, two best teams from each group and also the best third-placed team among them will join Spain in the elite round. It will take place in spring 2026 and seven groups will determine seven teams that will join Wales in the final stage of Euro-2026 (U-19).