In March 2024, the youth national team of Ukraine will play in the elite round of the Euro 2024 qualifiers. "SuspilneSportspoke to the head coach of the youth national team Oleh Kuznetsov about the future rivals of the Blue and Yellows and the team's preliminary plans to prepare for the March meetings.
Oleg Kuznetsov (photo: uaf.ua)On the results of the draw:
"Of course, we are happy with the draw. We didn't get either Italy or France. We could have expected everything, because the Italians were in the fourth basket and the French in the third. I think we were lucky in some ways. With these rivals, we can set ourselves the task of taking first place."
Who will be the most difficult opponent in the group:
"We are not familiar with these teams. We have never played any of them. Given that Switzerland was in the first basket, the Swiss will probably be the favourites. We will get to know each team in the near future."
On preparing for the elite round matches:
"We didn't plan anything before the draw. Now we have our opponents, we will think about preparations. The elite round is in March, so we need to get together in February. It is advisable to play two control matches. The venue for the training camp will be decided by the [Ukrainian Football Association]. They will look for cities. It's clear that it won't be in Ukraine - perhaps they will organise some kind of training camp abroad. But we haven't talked about it yet."
