On Tuesday, October 7, the youth national team of Ukraine (U-20) faced Spain in the Round of 16 at the 2025 World Cup (U-20) in Chile.
2025 World Cup (U-20). Round of 16
UKRAINE (U-20) — SPAIN (U-20) — 0:1 (0:1)
Goal: Pablo García (24)
Ukraine (U-20): Krapyvtsov, Husev, Melnychenko, Kysil, Katrych, Shakh (Shevchenko, 65), Vashchenko (Budko, 81), Krevtsun, Derkach (Dihtiar, 89), Karaman (Panshenko, 81), Ponomarenko (Pyshchur, 46).
Spain (U-20): Gonzalez, Diaz, Cuenca (Cortes, 59), Fortea (Canales, 77), Merino, Belay (Navarro, 77), Mendoza, Pytarch, Bravo, Pablo García, Virgili (Mella, 59).
In the first half, the «blue-yellow» team relied on quick attacks, counting on the scoring abilities of Matviy Ponomarenko. The center forward was the most noticeable player on our team in the first half; after a foul on him, the Spaniards received the only yellow card in the half.
The opponent had more ball possession, with Pablo García standing out with particular activity. At one point, the striker had a dangerous header from the edge of the goal area and later forced Krapyvtsov to react to a shot from about 16 meters away.
Midway through the half, the Spaniards earned a corner on the right flank, which proved to be successful. The set piece ended with a pass from Mendoza to Pablo García, who was allowed to shoot from the goal area line.
Almost immediately, the Ukrainians could have equalized, but after a wing pass to the left, Ponomarenko couldn’t reach the ball. Before the break, Matviy had another chance: after a free kick from Krevtsun, the forward headed the ball towards the far corner — just beside the post.
After the break, Ukraine stepped up — increased the tempo, moved the game to the Spanish half of the field, and began to threaten their goal more often. After one of the shots, the ball deflected off a defender and flew just over the crossbar. Subsequently, Husev finished a set piece with a shot towards the far corner — again just beside the goal area.
The last minutes were very emotional. The «blue-yellow» team attacked almost with the whole squad, but Pyshchur was just a little short of hitting the target with a turnaround shot. In the end — 0:1, Ukraine narrowly loses to Spain and finishes its journey in the World Cup in Chile.
