The blue-and-yellows suffered three defeats and did not reach the elite round of Euro 2025 qualifying
Head coach Ukrainian national team U-19 Dmitry Mikhailenko commented on the unsuccessful performance of his team in the November qualifying matches European Championship 2025.
“Now I would like to focus on the following points: I need to analyze whether I, as a coach, did everything right when I formed the team, or whether all the best players were on board. Perhaps I missed someone, although there was time, and it was as if we were looking through all the players.”
“We also have a problem in our country that we have a low level of U-19 teams, where most of our guys play. The level that exists in the international arena does not suit us, everything is much faster there. We need to understand how our players can progress.”
“Many have been playing for U-19 teams for the third season. I don’t think that in Europe performers play for youth teams for so long. Usually a year or two and there is a transition to the next level. And if at first there is progress, since the football player confronts older opponents, then after three years the same performer plays against younger guys, so the growth that is expected of him either stops or slows down critically. Performers who are already playing in adult football look more confident than those who are still playing in youth club competitions.”
“Another point that I would like to draw attention to is personnel problems. Literally on the last day before leaving for the Netherlands, changes had to be made to the list of players, as Bogdan Redushko and Bogdan Budko were injured. Gennady Sinchuk had the same problems, but he was able, as far as possible, to recover from the injury before the second game.”
“There were players who played below their capabilities. There were also those who, it seems to me, faded under the burden of responsibility. But there were also those who, in a difficult situation, opened up and showed their good side. Who was affected by the pressure?”
“Of course there is huge disappointment. This is not what I expected. We set the guys up for a completely different result, but there is a harsh reality.”
“As a coach, I believe that our players need to set bigger goals, give them bigger challenges. If you have talent, and many of our players have it, you need to get out of your comfort zone. When in the national championship you win every other time with a difference of five goals and when after the game you still have a 50% battery charge remaining, then what kind of growth can we talk about?”
“It is necessary for the coach, I am not talking specifically about myself, to have a pool of football players performing at a level comparable to the level of international competitions. As practice shows, in tournaments such as Euro qualifications, it is not skill that comes to the fore, but the ability to fight and endure.”
The Ukrainian team, without any points, took last place in Group 1. The Netherlands won the quartet with three victories, Slovenia took second place, and Kazakhstan took third.
Let us remind you that the blue-yellows lost to Kazakhstan (1:2) at the start of the qualifying round. In the second round, Dmitry Mikhailenko’s team lost minimally to Slovenia (0:1), and in the third – to the Netherlands (0:1).
Source: Sportarena
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