Oleg Kuznetsov: "Our team has no other goal than to make it to the elite round of the European Championship selection"

13.11.2023 14:00

Photo of UAF press service

The head coach of the youth national team of Ukraine (football players not older than 2005) Oleg Kuznetsov talked about the team's preparation for the qualifying round of Euro-2024 (U-19).

The youth national team of Ukraine has started preparations for the qualifying round of Euro-2024 (U-19), which will be held in Malta from November 15 to 21. We will remind that, in addition to the hosts, the blue-yellow team will play against Kosovo and Slovakia.

Its head coach Oleg Kuznetsov told the official website of the UAF about the upcoming plans of our national team.

— Oleg Volodymyrovych, is the squad that went to the qualifying round of the European Championship optimal?

- I think so. If many new players were invited to the recent gathering in South Korea, now the emphasis was placed on football players having game practice.

— But even now there are not without newcomers...

- So. We followed Timur Tuterov a long time ago, when he was still playing for "Colossus". Currently, he is consistently playing for Sunderland's youth team. Good reviews about Oleksandr Pyshtur, a tall striker from Puskas Academy. Bohdan Manuylov is also doing well in Spain. I hope these guys will help us.

— Will the team have little time to prepare for the tournament?

— We left Kyiv in the morning of the 11th. They arrived in Malta on the 12th closer to the evening. We will have, in fact, two full working days.

— What do you know about the future opponents for qualification?

— We collect the most information on the Malta national team, because we meet with the hosts in the first round. And we will look at Kosovo and Slovakia at the tournament itself.

— Can the national team of Ukraine be called the favorite of this group?

- I would not be so categorical. Maltese are hosts, so they will be highly motivated. We met and defeated Kosovo, but it was a very difficult match for Ukraine. And Slovakia has always had promising youth. Therefore, I would not single out any national team. All opponents have roughly the same chance of success.

— Can we not ask about the task of the blue-yellows?

— Our team has no other goal than to make it to the elite round of the European Championship selection.

The composition of U-19 youth team of Ukraine

Goalkeepers: Vladyslav Kravets (Shakhtar Donetsk), Vyacheslav Surkis (Dynamo Kyiv), David Fesyuk (Hajduk, Croatia).

Defenders: Denys Dykiy, Nazar Balaba, Oleksiy Gusev, Taras Mykhavko (all Dynamo Kyiv), Mykola Ogarkov (Shakhtar Donetsk), Stepan Lysenko (Hajduk, Croatia).

Midfielders: Dmitry Kremchanin, Roman Salenko (both from "Dynamo" Kyiv), Yevhenii Mykytyuk ("Polyssia" Zhytomyr), Vitaly Mykhailiv ("Minai"), Daniil Vashchenko ("Alexandria"), Maxim Melnychenko ("Dnipro-1" Dnipro), Maxim Derkach (Estoril, Portugal), Bohdan Manuylov (San Jose, Spain).

Forwards: Timur Tutyerov (Sunderland, England), Matviy Ponomarenko (Dynamo Kyiv), Serhii Panchenko (Rukh Lviv), Oleksandr Pyshtur (Puskas Academy, Hungary).

Euro 2024 (U-19). Qualifying round. Group 7

15.11.2023

Ukraine — Malta (12:00)

Kosovo - Slovakia (15:30)

18.11.2023

Ukraine — Kosovo (12:00)

Slovakia — Malta (15:30)

21.11.2023

Slovakia - Ukraine - 12:00

Malta - Kosovo (15:30)

The kick off is Kyiv time. 

Composition of qualifying groups for Euro-2024 (U-19)

Group 1: France, Denmark, Iceland, Estonia.

Group 2: Norway, Hungary, Latvia, Gibraltar.

Group 3: Serbia, Scotland, Bulgaria, Andorra.

Group 4: Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Liechtenstein.

Group 5: Germany, Poland, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan.

Group 6: Spain, Georgia, Cyprus, Moldova.

Group 7: Ukraine, Slovakia, Kosovo, Malta.

Group 8: Turkey, Greece, Belarus, Lithuania.

Group 9: Israel, Croatia, Armenia, Faroe Islands.

Group 10: Czech Republic, Romania, Finland, San Marino.

Group 11: The Netherlands, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Azerbaijan, Luxembourg.

Group 12: England, Austria, Wales, Montenegro.

Group 13: Ireland, Belgium, Slovenia, Albania.

The first two qualifying group winners and the best third-place finishers from the matches against the first and second teams will join Portugal in the elite qualifying round. 

The Northern Ireland national team, as the host, received a direct pass to the final stage, which will be held in the summer of 2024. The winners of the seven groups of the elite round will also go there.