The gathering of the youth national team of Ukraine (players not older than 2006) has begun, which will participate in the qualifying round of Euro-2025 U-19 from November 13th to 19th. The head coach of the “blue-yellow” team, Dmytro Mykhailenko, spoke about the team’s preparation for the tournament on the official UAF website.
— Mr. Dmytro, what’s the mood at the start of the gathering?
— The mood is combative, all the guys understand the responsibility of these competitions, so the coaching staff looks at the near future with optimism.
— Is everything alright with the team’s player potential?
— Unfortunately, just a week before the gathering, midfielder from the Dutch AZ Bohdan Budko was injured. All others whom we wanted to see arrived at the national team’s camp.
— A new player has appeared on the list in the person of Zakhar Bauman…
— We have been following this player for a long time and have been in touch with him for a while. He is a quality central midfielder who plays regularly for Manchester United U-18, U-19, and U-21, and has become a champion. We are glad that the issue of him getting a Ukrainian passport has been resolved. I believe this is an enhancement for the national team of Ukraine. The guy was born in 2007 and has enormous potential.
— Do you have enough information about your opponents — the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Kazakhstan?
— There is enough information. We even saw the hosts live a month ago when we had a gathering in Spain. For understandable reasons, I wouldn’t go into detail about the actions of these teams. We will try to exploit the weaknesses of our opponents during the matches themselves. And the coaching staff will definitely show and tell the team how to play against each particular opponent.
— Is the Netherlands the favorite of our group?
— The Netherlands is a powerful team, so I believe they are undoubtedly the favorites of our group. As for the other teams, I definitely do not want to underestimate the opponents. Slovenia is currently on the rise. This is true for all teams, starting with the national one. The U-19 team has a significant number of players performing in Italy, which says a lot. Regarding the Kazakhs, all their players represent local clubs. Therefore, until the qualifying matches begin, I believe everyone has equal chances.
— The Ukrainian team will have very little time to prepare for the tournament…
— These are the realities; there is nothing we can do about it. Essentially, we will have just one pre-game training session. Last weekend, the guys had club matches, and our first game is on Wednesday against Kazakhstan. Recovery will be very important. It will be difficult, and here the psychological aspect is crucial, so that the guys can concentrate on the matches of the national team and remember all the things we worked on during the previous preparations.
— Is the task of finishing first not a top priority?
— Our goal is to make it to the elite round of the tournament, and from which position — it’s not that important.