On September 27, the 24th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup will kick off in Chile, where the national team of Ukraine (U-20) will also participate, playing in the group stage against South Korea (September 27), Panama (September 30), and Paraguay (October 3). Viktor Skrypnyk, the head coach of Luhansk Zorya, shared his thoughts on the prospects of the «blue-yellows» at the World Cup.
Viktor Skrypnyk. Photo — FC «Zorya»— What do you think about the prospects of this youth national team at the 2025 World Cup (U-20)? Given the level of opponents, which are South Korea, Paraguay, and Panama. Is getting out of the group the minimum task, or could there be problems?
— At such large tournaments, there are always surprise teams, let’s say. South Korea performed quite well at the last youth World Cups and made it to the playoff stage. However, it should be understood that the youth football in Korea has a significant rotation: some players grow older while others are coming up.
So, I believe that for Ukraine, the minimum task is to get out of the group, and then... As they say, appetite comes with eating. (Smiles).
Let’s recall the World Cup when we became champions [U-20 team, 2019], remember?
— How could anyone forget that — Ukraine is the world champion in football, it feels like some kind of fantasy.
— Remember how our coach [Oleksandr Petrakov] was criticized at first: what kind of game, what kind of lineup, what kind of team, and then it just took off! And in the end, they won the World Cup.
The team usually finds itself and its game during the tournament. Emotions, teamwork, friendship, happiness come together. (Smiles). Boom, and you’re already in the quarter-finals or semi-finals, or in the final. The most important thing, in my opinion, is to start well at the 2025 World Cup. Starting with a loss is really bad. Let’s recall Euro-2024 for our national team?
— It’s better not to, I still feel twitchy over that loss to the Romanians.
— We lost to Romania (0:3) and then tried heroically to salvage the situation. We later won against Slovakia (2:1) and drew with Belgium (0:0). And everyone asked why we didn’t play like that from the start, as we did after the loss in the first game? Therefore, I really want Ukraine to start the youth World Cup with a win (the first match against South Korea, — ed. note).
— Who do you think is the most dangerous opponent?
— It’s hard for me to comment on the level of our opponents; I haven’t studied them, I don’t know. There are teams that are no-name, and they can surprise, while there are also famous European or South American teams that might have a weak year, not the right generation. And — they fail.
— The championship will take place in Chile, a different continent, a different time zone. Yes, the team is leaving early, but will there be enough time for acclimatization?
— In physical terms, this might show in the first game; whether it’s five or ten days of acclimatization, but the debut game is special. And generally, you know, it might sound cliché, but everything in Chile is different compared to Ukraine, even the grass on the field. (Smiles).
Our opponents should also have a hard time with acclimatization, except maybe Paraguay. And in general, in the team, there are people responsible for organization; they must have studied everything thoroughly, so I hope there will be no organizational issues for Ukraine in Chile.
Also, Dima [Mykhailenko] himself told me that he flew there for the draw and saw everything perfectly, figured it all out. Everything has been planned; I hope so.
— Dmitro Mykhailenko was unable to call up several players for a number of objective and subjective reasons. If you compare the rosters for the training camp and this one, who can you name as the biggest loss for the national team? Who would certainly not hinder this team?
— I haven’t delved deeply into this issue, but I’ll name one boy whom, as you said, would certainly not hinder us. This is the right winger of «Metalist 1925» Hajiyev, but he injured himself (sustained a knee ligament injury during the sixth round of the UPL against «Poltava», 2:0, — ed. note). I worked with him at the Kharkiv club; he is one who can make a difference, as they say.
In general, it seems a bit unfair to these boys who will play in Chile to compare them with their predecessors. What, do they say, what second team? No. They are normal, good, and combat-ready. We have enough qualified boys. You know, sometimes one experienced player is «full», while a young one is hungry, has the motivation, their eyes are shining. Of course, Mykhailenko would like to call up more experienced players, but there are a lot of nuances. Injuries, the club season is in progress, and so on. I don’t see any problems with our roster; I don’t see any kind of deadlock situation; we are not doomed.
— Who can become the leader of this team — Dynamo’s Ponomarenko, or maybe Shevchenko Jr. or the son of the legend of the «white-blues,» Oleg Husyev, Oleksiy?
— If Shevchenko and Husyev Jr. played like their fathers, then one wouldn’t need to worry about the team at all. (Smiles). That’s just a joke. They still have everything ahead of them. Ponomarenko could become a leader; he scored a lot at the youth level in Ukraine, or maybe someone else; we will see.
In general, I would like us to have a team game, independent of any one person. There’s a striker from «Bayern» Harry Kane. He scores a lot, but first and foremost, he’s a team player. He’s not like Cristiano Ronaldo, who focuses on stamping goals.
— Christian Shevchenko is the fifth wheel on this team, as one respectable expert told me, I won’t name his name, the protection of his father, the president of UAF Andriy Mykolayovych, or is he truly a talented boy?
— I’m also currently working with the son of a star. Young Salenko (son of Oleg Salenko, the top scorer of the 1994 World Cup, — ed. note) has no authorities. And I really like this about Roma. He doesn’t care who he plays against: whether it’s the first team, conditionally «Shakhtar,» or the second team of some club, he steps up and plays. Salenko loves football, not himself in football.
As for Shevchenko Jr., if Christian is called up to the national team, it means he has earned it.
I remember when young Sudakov was called up to the Ukraine U-21 national team. And then everyone was «talking about Sudakov,» such a pun; excuse me. They said, who is he? And look how he shone at Euro later (Sudakov played for the Ukraine U-21 national team, appearing in 20 matches and scoring 6 goals from 2020 to 2023. He was a key player for the team, helping them reach the semifinals of the 2023 UEFA European U-21 Championship — ed. note).
— Why are Ukrainian clubs, with foreigners it’s clear, they have no business with our national team, reluctant to send their players to the youth team?
— I can’t speak for everyone, but I’ll speak for myself. I’ll say this: before the World Cup, we looked at the situation inside Zorya, and unfortunately, I don’t have such a large resource to diminish it. That’s all.
I understand everything; I spoke with Mykhailenko, and we reached a consensus.
— Who do you personally know well from this youth team, who have you worked with together?
— I know the potential of Pani from «Metalist 1925» [Matviy Panchenko, midfielder] very well. I had him train with the main team, and he traveled with us to training camps, played for the first team. And he’s doing well now.
— Again, Artem Stepanov is not in the squad. Is this really a big loss, or considering his attitude toward the national team, is it not that significant?
— The tournament will show whether it is a big or small loss. You and I are outsiders, observing from the side. We don’t make decisions about who to call up and who not to. The coaches of our national team know all the nuances better than we do. And I don’t want to discuss why Stepanov seemingly doesn’t want to come to the national team.
— Your prediction for the 2025 World Cup for the Ukraine national team: how far can they go?
— I want our boys to get through as far as possible and perform well at such a big tournament. However, sometimes our expectations turn out to be unrealistic. Again, let’s recall Euro-2024, what a lineup we had, how much we wanted, hoped to advance to the playoffs, at least (Ukraine didn’t make it out of the group, finishing last despite accumulating four points like all our opponents — Romania, Belgium, and Slovakia, but had worse goal statistics — ed. note). It’s a pity that we learn not from others but from our own mistakes. I’m sure the youth players watched the adult Euro, and the coaches analyzed and made certain conclusions.
The main thing is that players listen to Mykhailenko and follow his instructions, take the field, and do their job as needed. You can lose, but when you see how passionately your players battled, and it didn’t work out, the opponent was stronger, then for such a game, players can only be thanked. You can say: «Guys, don’t worry; there are more matches ahead; you’ll fix this.»
At the World Cup, it would be nice to snag some medals; that would be great overall.
Viktor Glukhentiy
