Ukraine's youth national team played its second match in the 2025 European Championship qualifiers. The Ukrainians defeated Luxembourg 3-0. The head coach of the youth national team of Ukraine, Unai Melgosa, gave a commentary for Suspilne Sport, in which he assessed the team's performance.
Unai MelgosaOn emotions from the victory over Luxembourg
"I am calm. I am calm because we have done a good job these days. I can't say that the players didn't work hard. Happy is a very loud word, but I am calm.
I think for the most part we were quite calm. We had chances to score, and there were more of them than in the previous game against Northern Ireland. Perhaps it was only in the final third of the pitch that we were not successful, but in the end, by continuing to do the same thing, we scored. We are happy for Ihor [Krasnopir]."
On Oleh Ocheretko's injury in the first half
"Yes, when such [head] injuries happen, it is always difficult. After he fell, I felt that he was dizzy, I spoke to the doctor and the referee. Yes, he is a bit dizzy, but he is fine."
On substitutions in the second half
"We made substitutions because we needed them. Some players did an incredible job in the press in the first half, and that's what we were thinking about. We didn't wait, we tried to go forward. And when you go forward, there is a lot of space to cover. They [the players] got tired of it, and we can't play like that for the whole 90 minutes. We need to compensate for this, and that's why we tried to introduce new, fresh players into the game. Perhaps the match resumed in the second half a little bit differently than we wanted, and we needed to take control of it. But at the moment when they [Luxembourg] started to play a little bit better, we scored, and that was a breath of fresh air for us."
On the performance of Kvasnytsia, Viunnyk and Kucheriavyi
"Yes, they worked hard. They understand the importance of space behind them. Of course, there are other things they don't like, especially when they feel that space [behind them]. But sometimes you need to control the game more without turning it into a goal-to-go game. It's very difficult for us."
What does the victory over Luxembourg mean before the game against England?
"A win is always good. I don't know how it will affect the players' minds. Sometimes you lose and get extra motivation, and sometimes you win and say to yourself, okay, I'm the best. We need to deal with that, with winning and losing."
On the next match against England
"I never say in advance. Now it is what it is. And then [against England] we will need to show our best. We'll try to do that. Did you play aggressively against Luxembourg in the second half before England? First of all, we needed to win that match, and it was not a close one. We closed the match by scoring the third goal in the last minute.
As for the intensity, we came here with 24 players. We can rotate, and all the players need to show their best. At the same time, we have three days. I know that it is difficult, that we have long journeys. We understand this situation because we don't want anyone to get injured. But now, with 20-year-old players in the squad, they are still young and fresh. That's why they have to give 100% until the end of the match, any match."
