Yesterday, the Ukrainian youth national team (U-17) (players not older than 2008) completed their performance in the second round of the Euro-2025 (U-17) qualifiers.
Previously, under the guidance of Oleksandr Sytnyk, they lost to Croatia (1:2) and Italy (1:2) in group “A1”, losing their chances of advancing to the final tournament. Now, in the match against Slovakia, our boys determined the fate of the third place in the quartet and the retention of a spot in League “A” for the first round of qualifying for Euro-2027 (U-19).
The game took place in the Croatian city of Sesvete and ended with a 1:0 victory for Ukraine, with the only goal scored by Dynamo Kyiv midfielder Pavlo Lyusin.
Qualifying for Euro-2025 (U-17). Match for a place in League “A”
SLOVAKIA (U−17) — UKRAINE (U−17) — 0:1 (0:0)
Goal: Lyusin (90)
Slovakia (U−17): Gramblichka, Husar (Rihtar, 67), Vincent, Kodai, Mikunda (Lerint, 81), Rainoga, Yenchush, Mateash, Rabatin, Kasana (Labo, 67), Koribsky (Petsuk, 60).
Ukraine (U−17): Hadasevich, Kutyia, Milokost, Onishchuk, Zalipka, Sereda (O. Tkachenkо, 75), Lyusin, Dzhurabaev (Petrovsky, 90+4), Hamzyk (Muradyan, 66), Zudin (Kalyuzhny, 90+4), Zubriy (Kucheryavyi, 66).
At the beginning of the meeting, the teams exchanged unsuccessful shots. In the 17th minute, the Ukrainians missed a goal chance — Dzhurabaev intercepted the ball on the edge of the penalty area and passed to Zubriy, who missed the goal. The Slovaks responded with a shot from Husar on target.
The “blue-yellows” continued to attack and were closer to scoring, particularly with Lyusin missing from a good position. Then the opponent had a dangerous shot from a free-kick, while our team saw Hamzyk fail to connect with a sharp cross from a teammate. Just before halftime, Zudin tested the Slovak keeper.
The second half began with a long-range shot from Zudin on target. For some time, the Slovak national team held the initiative, while the Ukrainians focused on counterattacks. In the 64th minute, Zudin shot after a cross from Hamzyk, but Gramblichka saved his team. In the 76th minute, there was a goal-scoring chance for the Slovaks when Hadasevich fended off Mateash in close combat.
Next, there were two good chances for Kucheryavyi, who missed, and Zudin had a chance to score but shot conveniently for the keeper. Then the Slovaks also missed a great opportunity. Still, luck was on our side — in the 90th minute, Lyusin, after a pass from Muradyan, managed to outsmart the defender and goalkeeper and finished the match with a point — 1:0.
The Ukrainian youth finished the mini-tournament with a victory and placed third in the group, thus they will compete in the first round of qualifying for Euro-2027 (U-19) in League “A”.
