After the victorious opening match of the U-20 World Cup 2025 against South Korea (2:1), the head coach of the Ukrainian youth national team Dmytro Mykhailenko did not hide his positive emotions:
Dmytro Mykhailenko. Photo: UAF“I am very happy that we managed to start with a victory. This is what we dreamed of. The game turned out to be nerve-wracking and not easy at all. The first half was ours, then the Koreans increased their intensity, and after the 60th minute, we lacked speed, creating chances became problematic, so we operated more from the back, sometimes through the goalkeeper. The opponent troubled us a lot at the end of the match due to their pressure and set pieces.
But I liked that all the guys were very charged, tried to endure, and gave it their all. In such tournaments, the result comes first; the quality of the game is forgotten, but everyone will remember the score.
Of course, we need to analyze the game, recover, and move on, preparing for the next matches,” said Mykhailenko.
