What do we know about the U-20 national teams? In 2019, the Ukrainian national team of this age group won the World Cup in Poland. Then Oleksandr Petrakov's team was able to reach the semi-finals of the Euro (U-19). Thanks to a successful game on the fields of Finland, they got a ticket to the World Cup.
Former Dynamo player and assistant coach Ognjen Vukojevic is in charge of the Croatian U-20 national team. The team of this age does not have official matches, they only play sparring matches. Almost every country has a youth team of this age.
The essence of its existence is that it takes almost two years from U-19 to U-21. Some players at the age of 19 get into the youth national team of their country. They are waiting for the next qualifying cycle. It is clear that during this time a lot changes in the development of players. Someone develops, someone does not develop, someone plays, and someone lacks playing practice. We need to keep track of everyone so that when the U-21 team is formed, we have all the information and the team is as good as possible. Plus, game practice for those who do not get into the "youth".
Now the Ukrainian national team (U-19) is playing the first round of qualification for the Euros. The last time Oleg Kuznetsov's team officially gathered was in April 2022. Before the qualifiers, there was a tournament in Korea in October. In total, there was a pause of almost a year and a half. During this time, almost nothing remained of the U-17 team. Some players are not making progress, some are injured, some have no playing practice, and new players have appeared. We really lacked chemistry in Malta.
Last spring, the 2004 national team of Ukraine finished its performances. Sergiy Nagornyak's team failed to make it through the elite round in Spain. From that team, only Yehor Yarmolyuk from Brentford has been consistently called up to the youth team. Bohdan Slyubyk and Ivan Varfolomeiev also received calls. And all the others are overboard. I'm currently playing in the youth team, born in 2002-2003. There is a lot of competition. There are some interesting guys who have the potential to reach the main team - Anton Tsarenko, Ihor Horbach, Bohdan Slyubyk, Yurii Volodymyr Hereta, Yevhen Pastukh, Oleh Fedor, Anton Glushchenko, Danylo Udod, Daniel Kivinda, Oleksandr Avramenko. Perhaps it is worth inviting players born in 2003 who have no playing practice in the youth team. They play only friendly matches anyway. All players will be under control. Then their transition to the U-21 will be much easier.
In other words, we are talking about a system in the youth national teams. The U-20 team is a key step in the transition from youth to adult or youth football. At this age, you can give the principles or basics by which the youth and national teams play, so that the players can adapt to these requirements faster.
Of course, this means money and expenses. It is not an easy time. Something can be done in Ukraine during international breaks. There are opportunities to play against youth or even adult teams from the UPL. Legionnaires are unlikely to come. Not so much because of the war, but because of the opportunity to leave again. We need to work in the realities that exist. You need to look for tournaments abroad that will host and provide food and accommodation. There are 4 windows for the national team in a year. Even if the team gathers somewhere in Kyiv or Lviv to train, it will be beneficial.
Serhiy Tyshchenko
