In their third match at the 2025 World Cup in Chile, the Ukraine U-20 youth team defeated Paraguay (2:1) and advanced to the Round of 16 as the first in Group B. After the match, defender Maksym Melnychenko shared his emotions with the UAF press service.
Maksym Melnychenko“Of course, the emotions are maximally positive, as we accomplished our task and advanced from the group in first place. Naturally, we were curious about who we would play next. We watched, but it’s not all clear yet, so we have to wait. Tomorrow or the day after, we’ll find out our opponent.
As for my new partner in the match against Paraguay (Vladyslav Kysil — Note), I believe that Vlad played very decently for his debut. He acted confidently, and I felt very comfortable playing with him.
It’s nice to feel the support of our fans. They were chanting, “Ukraine, Ukraine!” when we went forward, and it certainly added positive emotions. In that moment, I wanted to do more and more for our country. The city and the stadium where we played also left a good impression. That’s why I want to work and progress further and further.
With each match, confidence in ourselves grows. We play against different opponents, very high-quality ones, but we see that we can beat them, and that inspires us. Any player can come out and strengthen the game. There was also a tough moment in this match at a score of 1:1, and the substitution of Ponomarenko helped a lot. He came out and scored. That’s what a striker should do,” Melnychenko said.
