In their third match at the 2025 World Cup in Chile, the Ukrainian U-20 youth team defeated Paraguay (2:1) and advanced to the Round of 16 from first place in Group B. After the match, forward Matviy Ponomarenko shared his emotions with the UAF press service.
Matviy Ponomarenko“My personal motivation was tremendous because it was my mom’s birthday, and the next day is my girlfriend’s. So there was a strong desire to score, to win, and to advance from the group. Scoring a goal is the best gift I could imagine for myself. All teams here are very strong, but we also have a wonderful team. We came here and focused on winning.
We have a strong coaching staff that gives us instructions on what to do and how to play. They chose the right tactics for each game, studied and prepared us for every opponent. After the matches, we analyzed them. That’s why we have such results. I believe every player entered the field with extra motivation. After all, this is the World Cup, an opportunity to showcase ourselves, as we have such a situation in our country. We fought for our entire nation, for all of Ukraine. I want to thank everyone who defends our state and gives us the opportunity to be here.
As for my substitution, we discussed it with the coach beforehand. He told me to get ready. I want to emphasize again that I was very motivated in this match. I had a chance, and I took advantage of it — I scored a goal and brought victory to the team,” said Ponomarenko.
