In preparation for the 2024 Games, the Ukrainian Olympic team played a friendly match against Japan.
Photo: Getty ImagesFriendly match
Japan (U-23 ) - Ukraine (U-23 ) - 2:0 (0: 0)
Goals: Sato (48), Tanaka (76).
Japan (U-23): Kokubo, Ohata (Uchino, 85), Baba, Sekine, Suzuki, Yamada (Hirakawa, 46), Sato (Komi, 78), D. Fujita (c), Matsuki (Uenaka, 78), Someno (Hosoya, 46), Araki (Tanaka, 67).
Ukraine (U-23): Fesyun (Yermakov, 60), Bol (Farina, 46), Didyk (Dyachuk, 60), Martyniuk, Sych (k) (Matsenko, 71), Nazarenko (Fedor, 71), Sigeev, Shostak (Kuliev, 46), Shuliansky (Kashchuk, 60), Zhelyzko, Kukharevych (Kulakovsky, 71).
After a four-day training camp in Szeged, Hungary, Ruslan Rotan's team travelled to the island of Kyushu, to the city of Kitakyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture. There, with the support of the Japan Football Association, the blue and yellows played a match with the local U-23 team. It was the first ever match of the Ukrainian Olympic team.
The first half was played with the hosts' advantage. Feshun had to regularly enter the game, a number of Japanese shots went wide of the goal, and in the 33rd minute Matsuki hit the crossbar from a rebound. The Ukrainians responded with their infrequent attacks, and shortly before the break, Sych tested Kokubo's vigilance.
At the start of the second half, Fesyun parried Araki's dangerous shot. However, Sato soon scored on a corner kick to open the scoring. The hosts continued to control the game, and Ruslan Rotan tried to change the situation with substitutions.
However, in the 76th minute, the hosts scored for the second time - Tanaka took advantage of a mistake by the Ukrainians near their own goal and scored in the far corner. Our players failed to win back at least one goal, so we suffered a 0-2 defeat.
As a reminder, on 20 March, Ukraine found out its rivals in the 2024 Olympic football tournament. Being in the fourth basket, it received Argentina, Morocco and the third Asian team as opponents in Group B. The blue and yellows will play their quartet matches on 24, 27 and 30 July.
