Valery Palamarchuk: "In Israel, the girls played even better than we expected"

18.11.2022 16:20

Photo of UAF press service

Youth women's national team of Ukraine WU-19 in Israel took it third place in the group tournament of the first round of Euro-2023 selection, remaining in League A.

"We played even better than expected," said the head coach of our national team Valery Palamarchuk in a comment to the official UAF website. — I hoped that we would compete with the favorites and achieve the desired result in the match with the home team, but the wards outdid themselves by drawing with the Austrians, and they were only a little short of losing to the Germans in stoppage time...

— By the way, lately the draw has been constantly bringing together the national teams of Ukraine and Austria in the group round of the European Championship, and only now, in Israel, our girls managed not to lose...

— Indeed, we lost twice with the same score of 0:1 at competitions in the Netherlands and Austria, and only on the third attempt did we sign a peace agreement. The wards played tactically competently, skillfully acted in selection, preventing opponents from finding vulnerable spots on the flanks. Our goalkeeper Kateryna Boklach was also on top, proving that it is not by chance that she is the main goalkeeper of the French Grenoble. In my opinion, we deserved a draw with the Austrians.

— What prevented the Ukrainian national team from losing to the Germans in the second round?

— It is necessary to clarify that the key players of the national team of Ukraine act as number one in their clubs, and in the matches against the Austrians and Germans, they had to play from the defense, and it was not always enough to have the ability to line up at the right moment, to play reliably as a backup. And the Germans tipped the scales in their favor in the compensated time.

— And the fact that in the end they finished behind the Austrians, is it a surprise?

- Do not think. Since this was the first round of selection, players who were a year younger than their counterparts played for Germany. But already next spring, when the participants of the final part of the continental championship will be determined, I am convinced that the basis will be involved.

— In order to stay in the elite division, in the final match, against the hosts, our girls had only to not lose...

— I set up my wards only for victory, and they acted with an emphasis on attack. Even when in the 54th minute Darya Borysiuk was sent off for a second warning, the crossbar saved the Israelis from trouble, unfortunately, they were unable to come face-to-face with the opponent's goalkeeper. And yet, for the sake of justice, it should be said that already in the compensated time, the home team won the right to a dangerous penalty 18 meters opposite the goal, but they missed it...

— Everyone drew attention to the fact that in three matches in Israel you used only 15 football players out of 20 declared...

— You know, I’m not a supporter of making substitutions, as they say, it’s good for... Although it can’t be said that we had a long bench, it should be taken into account that only eight players remained from the previous round of selection for the Euro, the rest were missing international experience.

— Besides goalkeeper Kateryna Boklach, can you single out anyone else?

- No, because we were a strong team.

- What's next?

— December 7 will kick-off draw of the second round of Euro-2023 selection. Then we will learn about future opponents and who will be the host of the tournament. I am convinced that next spring my wards will not let them down, and over time the football players will have more chances to make it to the women's national team of Ukraine.

Euro-2023 (WU-19). First round of qualifying. Group A6

08.11.2022

Ukraine - Austria - 1: 1

Germany - Israel - 5:0

11.11.2022

Germany - Ukraine - 2: 1

Austria - Israel - 3:1

14.11.2022

Austria — Germany — 2:1

Israel - Ukraine - 0: 0

Standings

We will remind you that the drawing ceremony of the second round of Euro-2023 selection (WU-19), which will begin on February 7 at 12.00:XNUMX Kyiv time, will determine the composition of the groups of both leagues and the hosts of the mini-tournaments.

In the second round of qualification, the seven national teams that will make up Belgium's team in the final stage of the European Championship among girls under 19 years of age will be determined, as well as the teams that will move from one league to another. The seeding in the second round draw will be determined by the positions that the national teams took in the first round.

League A will feature 28 teams, including seven national teams that were promoted from League B following the results of the first round. The seven group winners from the second round of the A-League (and the best runner-up if Belgium finishes first in the group) will qualify for the final stage, which will be played from 18 to 30 July 2023. The fourth-placed teams in the groups will start the first round of the 2023/2024 season in League B.

Teams in League B, including those relegated after the autumn stage from League A, will compete for tickets to the first round of League A in the next draw.

Euro 2023 (WU-19)

The results of the first round of selection formed the composition of the baskets before the drawing of the second round

League A

Group winners: Spain, Netherlands, Serbia, Denmark, France, Austria, Norway.

Second group teams: Finland, Sweden, Italy, England, Poland, Germany, Portugal.

The third teams of the groups: Switzerland, Greece, Hungary, Slovenia, Ireland, Ukraine, Belgium (host of the final part).

Moved from League B: Croatia, Romania, Iceland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Belarus, Czech Republic.

League B.

Relegated from League A: Scotland, Turkey, Wales, Slovakia, Northern Ireland, Israel, Malta.

Second group teams: Montenegro, Albania, Faroe Islands, Moldova, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan.

The third teams of the groups: Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Gibraltar, Georgia, Andorra.

The fourth teams of the groups: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Liechtenstein.