The national football team of Ukraine among players with amputations took second place in the League of Nations

09.10.2023 21:10

On Sunday, October 8, the premier competitions of the League of Nations of the European Football Federation among teams formed from players with limb amputations ended in Blankenberge, Belgium.

This tournament consists of four divisions, in which competitions are held in four different countries. At the same time, the League of Nations is a qualifying tournament for the 2024 European Championship in France.

The national football team of Ukraine among players with limb amputations also took part in the tournament. Within Division C, the blue-yellow team defeated the national teams of Greece (2:1) and Belgium (1:0), and also shared points in goalless matches with the teams of Georgia and Israel.

As a result, the Ukrainians scored the same number of points as the Georgians — eight each, but with a worse difference in goals scored and conceded, they ended the tournament in second place. The Georgian national team made it to the B division of the Nations League, and the Belgian team went to the D division.

The Ukrainian national team and its captain Yuriy Sushch received the Fair Play award from the organizers after the tournament.

"This tournament is interesting because teams of the same level gather within the division. Football in the world is developing, this can be seen on the example of the national teams of Israel and Georgia. It was interesting to take part in the League of Nations.

It is a great honor for us that our team included guys who were injured while defending Ukraine! Of course, we always want to win, but we are not disappointed by the second place, because we believe that we represented our country in a worthy way at the tournament.

It is also nice that Ukraine qualified for the European Championship. We hope that the team will be replenished with new performers who will be a worthy competition for the current players for a place in the team, and we will be able to demonstrate good football at the continental championship," Yuriy Susch shared his thoughts on the performances of our national team.

Also, returning home after the competition, the players of the national team of Ukraine met Andriy Yarmolenko, a football player of the national team, at the Warsaw airport, receiving congratulations from him on their successful performances and taking pictures together.