In the elite round of the Euro 2023 U-19 qualifiers, the Ukrainian national team (players not older than 2004) will play against Luxembourg, Denmark and Spain. Having gathered today, the U-19 national team of Ukraine immediately set a course for Spain. It is there that the elite round of the Euro 2023 qualifiers will take place. Head coach Serhiy Nagornyak told the UAF official website how the team will prepare for the tournament.
Serhiy Nagornyak (photo: uaf.ua)- Serhiy Mykolayovych, what are your plans for preparing your national team for the elite round of the European Championship qualifiers?
- On March 19, we are leaving Kyiv with an incomplete squad, we will pick up other players on the way, some will get there on their own. On the 20th, in the morning, we will fly to Spain from Budapest. On the 21st, we will have a pre-game training session, and the next day we will start the elite round. There is no time to prepare for the tournament at all, so we will again have to deal with the situation we are in. However, the most offensive thing for me is the injuries of some players.
- Who exactly will not be able to help?
- First of all, it's Yegor Yarmolyuk. And also Yevhen Pastukh and Oleg Fedor.
- There is a new name on the list, Mykyta Aleksandrov...
- We have a problem with strikers. In fact, there is only Ihor Horbach. Daniel Kivinda has just started training after a serious injury, so it's not worth talking about him as a potential candidate for the national team right now. No matter how hard I looked, there were no suitable candidates even among the younger players. I was advised to look at Mykyta Aleksandrov, whom I remembered from Dynamo. When the war started, he went to Spain and now plays for Rivas Madrid. Let's see what this player is like.
- Have you met your future group rivals?
- Luxembourg reached the elite round, and this says a lot, Denmark has always been an unyielding opponent, and Spain does not need to be introduced. Comparing its lineup in the Euro qualifiers and now in friendly matches, we can say that the Spaniards have five teams of this age, so much choice for their head coach.
- However, does the national team of Ukraine have maximum tasks?
- Undoubtedly. There is no other way. Yes, the circumstances are against us, but I believe in my team. I am most worried about the first game, against Luxembourg, because it is not known how our players will endure such a long journey.
It should be added that in the elite round, 28 participants will fight for tickets to the final stage, the matches of which will take place from July 3 to 16 this year in Malta. The winners of seven groups will get there.
At this stage of the selection in March, 27 teams that have passed the first stage and the Portuguese, who received a direct pass to the elite round as leaders in the ranking of the corresponding age, will play.
The composition of the youth national team of Ukraine U-19 >>>
