Defender of Ukraine U21 national team Illya Krupskyi commented on the team’s poor performance at Euro-2025.
Illya Krupskyi— A lot was expected from the team. Why didn't our national team manage to get out of the group?
— We understood that we should have achieved more. It's disappointing that we couldn't meet expectations. It's very hard to explain why it happened. The first half of 2025 was probably my hardest and most unsuccessful time in my career. Regarding Euro, we probably have such a mentality — to lose the first matches at major tournaments and then try to catch up. I had the same experience at the Olympics. The older teammates recalled the match against Romania at Euro-2024. And here is Denmark, and again a loss.
— But the match against the Danes was supposed to be ours?
— I agree. We acted confidently in the first half. We could have closed the game. After the match, the head coach told us that we were fixated on the result. And when we have a minimal advantage, we think about how to hold such a score, ignoring the coach's instructions, we start to lose positions, consequently losing concentration and we concede.
After the tournament, we were devastated, as we went to Slovakia for a completely different result.
— Was everything okay with the physical condition, since in the second halves of the first two matches, the team did not run?
— After the fight, one doesn't swing fists. Although I can't say that there was something wrong with the preparation. If we had made it out of the group, hardly anyone would have recalled many negative nuances. Everything comes from the mind.
— The decisive match was against the Netherlands, which we unfortunately did not pull through.
— We understood that the opponent would do everything to have the ball; they would suffer if they didn't get it. Ukraine also likes to play as the first number. But the opponent was strong. After my injury, I had only one full training session and I started in the starting lineup. It was very difficult to run without the ball. We probably lacked some endurance since we quickly lost the ball when it was taken from us. The opponent pressed well, and in the end, it brought the Dutch a result.
— What did Unai Melgosa say to the players after the last game?
— He thanked us for our work since we have come a long way. The coach emphasized that, unfortunately, we did not extract our maximum, wished everyone success in the future, and also said not to stop and strive to grow to perform in top European championships.
— In general, what do you think about the level of the European Championship?
— In my opinion, there are no obvious favorites here. Anyone could win against anyone. Who, for example, could have guessed that in the quarterfinals, the Netherlands, playing with a man down from the 20th minute, could beat Portugal? Or that Italy, having two players less, would take the game against Germany into overtime.
— How hard is it for you as a young player to mentally get out of a situation when everything is against you? The elimination of Vorskla, the injury, then the unsuccessful Euro...
— I worry about all these failures, but at the same time, I understand that for me this is an experience, even if negative. Without such bumps, there will be no progress. Let it happen now, while I am not so experienced, rather than maybe when I reach the main national team, where any player dreams of getting. When God wants to make you happy, He leads you through the hardest paths. That is the motto I adhere to.
Serhii Dem'yanchuk
