U-17: today the youth team of Ukraine begins the decisive stage of selection for Euro-2019

25.03.2019 09:30

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

Today, on March 25, at 12.00 the first match of the youth team of Ukraine in the elite round of Euro 2019 will begin (U-17).

All games with the participation of the national teams of Ukraine, Kosovo, Spain and Greece will take place in Switzerland, on the fields of the sports center "Kolovre" in Nyon. This is due to the fact that the Spaniards were initially chosen as the hosts (the matches were scheduled for March 20-26), but it turned out that Spain does not recognize the independence of Kosovo. Then there was a spare Swiss version.

The chances of Volodymyr Yezersky's team to get to the final tournament, which will take place on May 3-19 in Ireland, are quite good. After all, not only the winners of the eight groups of the elite round will receive passes, but also seven of the eight teams that will take second place.

It all depends on the level of concentration and motivation. After all, we remember how hard the boys born in 2002 started selection cycle in October 2018 - in the 7th minute of the first match with Iceland, the Ukrainians lost 0: 2. We managed to win back only after the break thanks to the goals of Volodymyr Brazhko (65) and Edvard Kobak (81) - 2: 2.

In the second round, Ezersky's charges defeated Gibraltar - 11: 0 (hat-trick by Georgy Sudakov, doubles by Eric Shuranov and Vladislav Vanat, goals by Danilo Skorko, Edward Kobak, Danylo Honcharuk and Viktor Bliznichenko). And the decisive match took place with Bosnia and Herzegovina. We needed a victory, and Ukraine won it - 3: 2. In the 13th minute Sudakov scored the first goal, in the 29th Shuranov - the second. In the compensated time of the first half, the Balkans played one ball, on the 68th Shuranov scored 3: 1, and on the 74th the Bosnian reduced the gap, but in the end still lost.

Below are the squads of the Ukrainian national team in these matches. Featured players who were challenged to the elite round games.

Match against Iceland: TURBAYEVSKY, EGBUJUO (EMERE, 46), ZABARNY, VIVCHARENKO, Solovyov (BRAZHKO, 46), VANAT (HONCHARUK, 57), SUDAKOV, VYUNNYK (Shuranov, 57), BLYKINI

Match against Gibraltar: TURBAYEVSKY, EGBUJUO, ZABARNY (KOBYLYANSKY, 46), Shuranov, HONCHARUK (BLIZNICHENKO, 54), Shevchenko (VANAT, 46), RYAZANTSEV (SUDAKOV, 60v, AV)

Match against Bosnia and Herzegovina: TURBAYEVSKY, EMERE, ZABARNY, VIVCHARENKO, SUDAKOV (VANAT, 66), Shuranov (Solovyov, 85), BLIZNICHENKO (VYUNNYK, 85), HONCHARUK (KOBAK, 75), BAZH.

The biggest loss of the team is the forward of the German "Nuremberg" Eric Shuranov, who, according to Ezersky, was not released by the club. He has four goals in three matches of the first stage of selection. In the German U-17 Championship from September 2018 to February 2019, he scored 13 goals in 14 matches and was transferred to the U-19 team. He held seven meetings there and scored one goal.

In late February, the U-17 team held two sparring matches in Israel with local peers. The first ended in a draw - 2:2 (in it the debut match was carried out by the Ukrainian from Italy - Sergio Jakubiv), the second Ukraine won - 3:2.

Euro-2019 Elite Round (U-17). Group 7