Ukraine’s Youth Team: A Rollercoaster Euro-2025 Journey
Today, October 15, the youth national team of Ukraine held its final match in the Euro-2025 (U-21) qualifying tournament against the Serbian team.
Well, well, well! Here we are, folks, witnessing the Ukrainian youth national team attempting to kick their way into the Euro-2025 (U-21) tournament! You see, before today, they were the perfect picture of a team on fire – eight wins in nine matches, only faltering against England, and still managing to book their ticket to Slovakia. You’d think they were royalty at a dinner party – invited but undermined by everyone around. A win against Serbia would be like sealing the deal with a thumbs-up! But alas, it seems like they left their party shoes at home.
As the first whistle echoed in Stara Pazova, the excitement was palpable. The Serbs, quick out of the blocks, took a cheeky lead just a minute in. I mean, can you even imagine the heartbreak? That’s like spilling your drink on someone right before you say “hi!” And speaking of heart, our boys – all keen and ready – had their first goal disallowed for offside! It’s like being told you were so close to nailing the conversation, but you just punched the air instead.
The game plodded on, with our lads trying to find the net while the Serbs were feeling like Leonardo DiCaprio with an Oscar – finally celebrating their chances. In the 21st minute, Aleksych shimmied past our defense and slotted it home. That was the moment when Ukrainian dreams turned from golden to grey – leaving our boys chasing shadows on the pitch.
Was it frustration? Was it a lack of precision? You could hear the collective groans echoing from Kyiv to the stadium as each shot went astray. Watching Kvasnytsia miss an open goal shot was like watching a magician pull a rabbit out of a hat – only it turned out to be a slab of tofu. No offense to tofu, but you get what I’m saying. The Serbs kept their chin up with a solid defense – it’s almost like they had plans to keep the game ‘turtled’ up until the final whistle.
Final Score: Serbia 1 – Ukraine 0
And there we had it: a 1:0 loss. It’s like finding out that the ‘Secret Santa’ gift you bought was just socks – useful, but certainly not the anticipated joy. Yet, let’s take a moment to appreciate the bright side! The blue-and-yellow brigade still managed to finish second in the group and booked a spot for Euro-2025 (U-21) alongside the likes of Denmark, England, and France! Now that’s a lineup sharp enough to make a fist fight out of a front-row ticket!
Euro-2025 (U-21) will kick off from June 11 to June 28, 2025, in Slovakia, showcasing sporting excellence akin to a Premier League drama but with younger, somewhat less refined future stars. Meanwhile, the determination of our youth is undoubtedly inspiring, and here’s hoping they conjure up more magic when their moment to shine arrives!
Now, as we await the playoff battles starting November 11, let’s mark December 3 on our calendars for the draw – because who doesn’t love a twist of fate? It’s all shaping up to be quite an exciting affair!
15.10.2024 23:36
Photo by the UAF press service
Today, October 15, the youth national team of Ukraine held its final match in the Euro-2025 (U-21) qualifying tournament against the Serbian team.
Before this meeting, the wards of Unai Melgosa won eight victories in nine matches, having already issued a ticket to the final tournament, despite losing to England (1:2). In order to get the first step in the group, the blue-yellow team had to beat Serbia on the road in the city of Stara Pazova.
The hosts hit the target in the 1st minute of the match. Later, the Ukrainians sent the ball into the net, but Krasnopir did it from offside, then Yarmolyuk and Varfolomeev checked the opponent’s goalkeeper. In the 21st minute, the Balkans took the lead — Aleksych intercepted the ball in front of our penalty area, played with his partner and shot past Nescheret. Shlyvych could have scored before the break, but at the last moment his shot was covered by Yarmolyuk. In our team, Voloshyn punched from the standard into the plane.
At the beginning of the second half, the Ukrainians pinned the opponents in their half, but they did not manage to score. In the 66th minute, the Serbs responded with Shlyvych’s shot in the area. The blue-and-yellow team also had shots on goal, but they lacked accuracy. Kvasnytsia did not use the scoring chance, not hitting the frame on the finish after a great shot by Rubchinsky. Later, the goalkeeper of the Serbs parried Hlan’s shot.
As a result, the hosts won – 1:0. Our national team finished second in the group and made it to Euro-2025 (U-21) as one of the three best teams among the runners-up.
Along with Ukraine, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain have licenses to participate in the forum, which will be held from June 11 to June 28, 2025, in addition to the host Slovakia. . Three more participants will be determined in the play-off matches on November 11-19. The formation of pairs of the contact stage is scheduled for October 17. The draw for the final tournament with the participation of 16 national teams (four groups of four teams) will take place on December 3 in Bratislava.
Euro-2025 (U-21). Qualification tournament. Group F
Serbia (U-21) — Ukraine (U-21) — 1:0 (1:0)
Key: Aleksic (21).
Serbia (U-21): Kaličanin, Djurdjevic, Milicic, Popovic, Lazic (c), Aleksic (Krstic, 90+2), Stjepanovic, Slivic (Trifunovic, 78), Radojevic (Vukicevic, 90+2), Milosevic (Petkovic, 13), Mijatovic.
Spares: Lieskich, Stevanovich, Achimovich, Pavlovich, Velichkovich.
Coach: Lubinko Drulovich.
Ukraine (U-21): Nescheret, Roman, Salyuk, Melnychenko, Smolyakov (Khlan, 72), Rubchinsky, Varfolomeev (Ocheretko, 53), Yarmolyuk (k) (Fedor, 72), Bragaru, Krasnopir (Kvasnytsia, 53, Gorbach, 90), Voloshyn.
Spares: Krapyvtsov, Vivcharenko, Mihavko, Yatsyk.
Coach: Unai Melgosa.
Arbitrator: Robert Jenkins (Wales).
Warned: Lazych (40), Miyatovich (45+2), Aleksych (45+2), Shlyvych (45+3) — Melnychenko (31), Varfolomeev (40), Smolyakov (45+2).
October 15. Old Pazova. FSS Sports Center.
Euro-2025 (U-21). Qualification tournament. Group F
07.09.2023
Northern Ireland – Luxembourg – 0:1
11.09.2023
Luxembourg — England — 0:3
12.09.2023
Ukraine — Northern Ireland — 1:0
Serbia — Azerbaijan — 2:0
12.10.2023
Azerbaijan — Northern Ireland — 0:1
Luxembourg – Ukraine — 0:3
England — Serbia — 9:1
16.10.2023
Ukraine — England — 3:2
Northern Ireland — Serbia — 1:2
17.10.2023
Azerbaijan – Luxembourg – 3:2
17.11.2023
Ukraine — Luxembourg — 4:0
18.11.2023
Serbia – England – 0:3
21.11.2023
Ukraine — Azerbaijan — 1:0
Serbia – Luxembourg – 2:0
England – Northern Ireland – 3:0
22.03.2024
Azerbaijan — England — 1:5
Luxembourg — Serbia — 1:1
26.03.2024
Azerbaijan – Ukraine — 0:3
Serbia – Northern Ireland – 1:2
England – Luxembourg – 7:0
06.09.2024
Ukraine – Serbia – 2:1
Luxembourg – Azerbaijan – 2:0
Northern Ireland – England – 0:0
10.09.2024
Azerbaijan — Serbia — 0:2
Northern Ireland — Ukraine — 1:2
11.10.2024
England — Ukraine — 2:1
12.10.2024
Northern Ireland – Azerbaijan – 5:0
15.10.2024
Luxembourg – Northern Ireland – 0:0
Serbia — Ukraine — 1:0
England — Azerbaijan — 7:0
Summary table
Team
I
IN
N
P
M
O
1
England
10
8
1
1
41—6
25
2
Ukraine
10
8
0
2
20—7
24
3
Serbia
10
5
1
4
13—18
16
4
Northern Ireland
10
3
2
5
10—10
11
5
Luxembourg
10
2
2
6
6—23
8
6
Azerbaijan
10
1
0
9
4—30
3
The final part of Euro 2025 (U-21) will feature 16 teams: Slovakia and 15 more national teams that will join it based on the selection results (nine group winners, three best teams among runners-up and three play-off winners, in which will be played by six runners-up).