The head coach of the Ukraine U-21 national team, Unai Melgosa, commented exclusively for the UAF press service on the results of today’s draw for the Euro-2027 U-21 qualifying tournament, where our team ended up in Group H, where its opponents will be Croatia, Hungary, Turkey, and Lithuania.
Photo: UAF press service
— Unai, please comment on the draw results. Are you satisfied?
— Yes, a new qualification begins, and this will be a new opportunity to see our young players as they face good and strong opponents.
— In your opinion, is it a plus or a minus that our team ended up in a group of five rather than six participants?
— We will play fewer matches than in the previous qualifying cycle. But they will be very important for us anyway.
— During the draw, the Ukraine U-21 national team was seeded from the first pot as a conditional favorite. This adds to the image but also to the responsibility. Do you agree?
— There is always great responsibility on us when the national team represents the country. Our main task is to show our best version every game day while we defend the colors of the national team.
— If possible, could you characterize each of our future opponents?
— Right now, I can only speak superficially about the opponents. Generally speaking, what everyone knows. Each generation of players is different from the previous one. And each team decides which players to involve in the matches. So we will observe. But I will note that all opponents are worthy of attention and respect. They all have potential. Therefore, as I said earlier, we need to show our best version to be competitive.
— In the March gathering of the youth team in Turkey, will you involve only players who will go to Euro-2025, or will you also be checking players with an eye on the Euro-2027 qualifying campaign?
— We will involve the best footballers of different ages and will try to give a chance to show themselves to those players whom we see as prospects.
