March. Chronicle of events: the start of the qualification for the 2022 World Cup, the historic appointment of Kateryna Monzul and the rival for the wards of Natalia Zinchenko

02.04.2021 15:05

In March, the national team of Ukraine started fighting for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. Andriy Shevchenko's team played three matches of the qualifying tournament. Also in the first spring month, matches of the 1/4 finals of the Cup of Ukraine were played. The women's national team met its opponent in the playoffs of the European Championship.    

March 3. With the participation of coaches of the national, youth and youth national teams of Ukraine in the UAF Football House an analytical and training seminar was held, devoted to the peculiarities of team preparation for matches and unification of the training process in teams of different age categories. 

The meeting was moderated by assistants to the head coach of the national team Andrea Mulder, Alexander Shovkovsky, as well as a specialist in tactical and technical analysis of football Luigi Nocentini and physical training coach of the main team of Ukraine Andrea Adzalin.

March 3. Were played 1/4 finals duel Cup of Ukraine-2020/2021. The main sensation of the draw took place in Kyiv at the Valery Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium, where a representative of the first league, Agribusiness, defeated the reigning champion of the country - Shakhtar Donetsk.

Photo by shakhtar.com

The next day at the House of Football the draw of the stage of the 1/2 final took place, as a result of which the following pairs were formed: "Agribusiness" Volochysk - "Dynamo" Kyiv and "Alexandria" - "Zorya" Luhansk.

March 3. The national futsal team of Ukraine held its second match of the group qualifying round of Euro-2022, in which on the road lost to Croatia - 2: 3.

March 5. The play-off draw qualification of the European Championship 2022 among women's national teams, as a result of which the national team of Ukraine defeated the team of Northern Ireland. The matches will take place on April 9 and 13, 2021. The blue and yellows will play the first game on their own field.

"It's a pretty good draw for us," commented on the results of the draw head coach of the women's national team of Ukraine Natalia Zinchenko. - At least our memories of previous fights with the Northern Irish are only pleasant. A year ago, at an international tournament in Spain, my wards easily won - 4: 0. I remember that in the elite round of the Euro-2019 selection among the youth national teams, the Ukrainians also proved to be stronger - 4: 2. "

March 5. Head coach of the national team of Ukraine Andriy Shevchenko announced an expanded list of players for the first gathering of the national team in 2021. The register includes 33 players.

March 1-5. In Nova Kakhovka, Kherson region there was a draw the fifth traditional tournament "Open Cup of the Football Association of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol". The main prize was won for the first time by the team representing the temporarily occupied Crimea - Simferopol's "Tavria".

Photo of UAF press service

March 7. The national futsal team of Ukraine held the third match of the group qualifying round of Euro-2022, in which at home in Zaporozhye lost to Croatia - 2: 7.

"In the home match with the Croats, we did not succeed in the second half. Third and fourth goals… As if they were in the minority, played well and then in a simple situation made a mistake in the standard, did not understand. The fourth goal - "for the collar" of the goalkeeper.

It derailed us a bit, and we couldn't get together. The game of five fielders did not work out, although they also created moments, but did not score and missed the empty net. Like a snowball, everything was rolling, at the end of the meeting we did not succeed. There are days when nothing happens. Apparently, it was one of them ", - commented on the result of the match head coach of the blue and yellows Alexander Kosenko.

March 10. It took place on Sports Square in Kyiv opening of the season "Square of Stars-2021". New stars of outstanding Ukrainian athletes were opened, including the star of the legend of national football, coach, honored master of sports of the USSR, participant of three world championships, and now - the first vice-president of the Ukrainian Football Association Anatoliy Demyanenko.

Photo by Volodymyr Rasner

"It is a great honor for me to open my own star in the company of stars of such outstanding football players as Oleg Blokhin, Andriy Shevchenko, Igor Belanov, Leonid Buryak, and our football father and educator - Valery Lobanovsky. Thank you to the organizers for a wonderful project! ” - Demyanenko said, having also received from the organizers a duplicate of the star in memory. 

Photo by Volodymyr Rasner

UAFA President, UEFA Executive Committee Member, NOC Vice President Andriy Pavelko congratulated the new stars and noted the great contribution of National Olympic Committee President Serhiy Bubka, Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine Vadym Gutzayt and President of the National Committee of Disabled Sports of Ukraine Valery Sushkevych to shaping the future sports generation.

March 10. In the Football House a regular meeting took place The UAF Professional Football Committee, headed by the first vice-president of the association Oleg Protasov. The meeting was dedicated to the resumption of the season in professional leagues. The leaders of UPL and PFL, heads of structural subdivisions of UAF shared information and discussed the problems they had to solve during the resumption of competitions.

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

March 11. The girls' national teams of Ukraine WU-17 and WU-19 got to know their rivals in the first round of selection of the European Championship 2022 of the corresponding age categories. According to the results of the draw, which took place in Nyon at UEFA headquarters, the Ukrainian national team WU-17 got into group 3 of League B, where he will play with Estonia, Moldova and Northern Macedonia. The WU-19 team in group 1 of League A will compete with peers from Austria, Scotland and the Netherlands.

March 15. The national team of Ukraine in cyber football in the discipline Pro Evolution Soccer held matches on the first day of the game in the selection of the UEFA eEuro-2021 European Championship.

The Ukrainian team, represented by two cyber football players (Serhiy Sergobibika Marchenko and Ihor Ighor_8 Lyubchak), played four game series in qualifying group A. Each series consisted of two matches, the sum of the results of which revealed the outcome of the match. The Blue and Yellows defeated Northern Macedonia (6: 2), Estonia (6: 1), Finland (5: 3), lost to Spain (4: 6) and with nine points occupy the second place in Group A after the first day of play.

March 16. The change of the venue of the matches of the qualifying tournament of the 2022 World Cup of the national team of Ukraine with Finland and Kazakhstan has been officially announced. UAF Executive Committee made a decision to postpone the fights from Lviv to Kyiv to the NSC "Olympic" in connection with the deterioration of the epidemic situation and the probable adoption of the decision of the authorized state authorities to introduce a "red zone" of quarantine in Lviv.

March 18. In Kyiv at the House of Football a seminar was held students of the National School of Football Referee of the second year of study and female referees.

Photo of UAF press service

The opening ceremony was attended by Deputy Chairman of the UAF Committee of Arbitrators and Head of the NSA Serhiy Lysenchuk, as well as members of the UAF CA Leonid Yarmolynsky and Mykhailo Ovchar.

Congratulations from the chairman of the committee Luciano Luci were conveyed to the young arbitrators.

March 19. It became known about decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport of Lausanne regarding the canceled match Switzerland - Ukraine.

CAS upheld the decision of the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Committee on the canceled match of the League of Nations for the 2020/2021 Switzerland-Ukraine season, which was to take place on November 17, 2020 (Ukraine's technical defeat was 0: 3).

However, in its decision, CAS noted: “Any national team could face a situation comparable to the situation with the UAF, which is also demonstrated by the case of Norway. Accordingly, the appellant is not guilty, but is another accidental victim of the COVID-19 pandemic. "

March 22. Players of the national team of Ukraine, called to the March training camp, gathered together in Kyiv and held the first training in 2021. Before the lesson in the field of STC. Bannikov's head coach Andriy Shevchenko, traditionally gathering the team in a circle, emphasized the importance of the March Games and drew the boys' attention to security measures during the pandemic, which imply the absence of any contact with the outside world.

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

March 24. The youth national team of Ukraine, which is preparing for the selection of Euro-2023 (U-21), meets in Turkey held the first match as part of the Antalya Cup tournament. In the meeting with the Bulgarian peers, the blue and yellows lost - 1: 2, winning in the course of the match. The goal of Ruslan Rotan's team was scored by Oleksandr Nazarenko.

March 24. The national team of Ukraine played its first match of the qualifying tournament for the 2022 World Cup. The game in Saint-Denis with the current world champion, the French national team, brought a draw - 1: 1. Andriy Shevchenko's wards missed in the first half, but after the break after Serhiy Sydorchuk's shot they equalized the score and kept it until the final whistle.

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

"It was very difficult because we didn't have enough time to prepare. I want to thank my players for their efforts and team play. They spent a lot of energy, but this is the only way to stop such a talented team as France. For us, this is a very good result - to get one point today, "- commented on the outcome of the game head coach of the blue-yellows Andriy Shevchenko.

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

With a positive result in the French team congratulated the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. "A draw on the road with the world champions - not bad! - the head of state wrote in his Twitter accounts. - Congratulations to the team and the coach with a great result, achieved despite solid personnel losses! Forward, Ukraine! ”

The team's performance was also praised by Andriy Pavelko, President of the Ukrainian Football Association and a member of the UEFA Executive Committee. on his Facebook page commented on the outcome of the match: “The national team of Ukraine wins an incredibly important draw in the match with the current world champion - the national team of France !!! The blue and yellows give our fans the first and extremely valuable point at the start of the selection for the 2022 World Cup! A very difficult match in which Andriy Shevchenko found an effective formula for playing on equal terms against the strongest team in the world! Thus, the coaching staff of the main team of Ukraine proved that the unpleasant result of last year's friendly match was only a consequence of heavy personnel losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. "

March 24. Before the match between the national teams of Ukraine and France a meeting took place heads of national associations of the two countries.

Andriy Pavelko and Noel Le Gre discussed the development of football in the two countries, exchanged experiences in the implementation of national programs to promote the game and mentioned current topics of European football at the level of the UEFA Executive Committee.

March 26. In Zhytomyr the opening match took place renovated with the assistance of the Ukrainian Football Association Polissya Stadium, in which FC Polissya and FC Crystal took part in the 18th round of the first league.

President of the Ukrainian Football Association, member of the UEFA Executive Committee Andriy Pavelko, head of the Zhytomyr Regional State Administration Vitaliy Bunechko, chairman of the regional council Volodymyr Fedorenko, mayor of Zhytomyr Serhiy Sukhomlyn, first vice-presidents of UAF Anatoliy Demyanenko and Oleg Protasov attended the landmark match in the history of the stadium. the chairman of ZHOAF Ruslan Pavlyuk.

Photo of UAF press service

March 27. Youth team of Ukraine held the second match in Turkey as part of the Antalya Cup tournament. In a meeting with the Uzbek team, Brazhko opened the scoring with a penalty kick, but the opponents won back. In the end - a draw, 11: 1.

March 28. Ukrainian Kateryna Monzul as the main referee in Vienna held a match Austria - Faroe Islands in the European qualification for the 2022 World Cup. Montzul became one of the first two female arbitrators, who worked in the matches of the men's world championship (together with the Frenchwoman Stephanie Frappar, who was appointed to the match of another group).

March 28. The second match of the national team of Ukraine in the qualification of the World Cup in 2022, against the team of Finland, ended in a draw - 1: 1. Having a significant advantage and creating many moments, the blue and yellows scored only once - their own debut goal for the national team designed by Junior Moraes. The Finnish team came back from the penalty spot in the 89th minute.

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

"We lost the victory today. In general, the team played very well, performed the installation for 85 minutes ", - summarized after the match head coach of the blue-yellows Andriy Shevchenko.

March 27-28. Following the results of online qualification the names of eight players became known, who are vying for victory in the third cyber football tournament in the 2020/2021 season, organized by the Ukrainian Electronic Football Association, - PES Spring Cup.

The winners of the selection are part of two groups that will determine the strongest in the finals of the PES Spring Cup, which will be held on April 3 and 4.

March 29. The youth national team of Ukraine finished its performances at the Antalya Cup tournament. In their last match, against Slovakia, Ruslan Rotan's team was defeated - 2: 3. After scoring two goals at the beginning of the second half (Mudryk, 48th minute and Vyunnyk, 56), the blue-yellows missed three times and allowed the opponents to celebrate a strong-willed victory.

March 31. Announced players list of the national women's national team of Ukraine, called to the training camp to prepare for the playoff matches of the European Championship 2022 with the team of Northern Ireland, which will take place on 9 and 13 April. The list includes 24 football players.

March 31. Head coach of Ukraine futsal team Oleksandr Kosenko has announced an expanded list players called up for the final three matches in the group stage of the selection of Euro-2022.

In April, the blue-yellows will meet Denmark (twice, on the 7th and 8th), as well as with Albania (11th). All matches will be held in Zaporozhye in the Palace of Sports "Youth".

March 31. The national team of Ukraine in its third March qualifying match for the 2022 World Cup played a draw with a score of 1: 1, this time - with the team of Kazakhstan. Having a full advantage over the opponent, the blue-yellows opened the score (Yaremchuk scored) and did not use many moments. Instead, one of the opponent's counterattacks proved to be effective.

"We scored a few points at home - we will take them away", - noticed on post-match press conferences Andrii Shevchenko.