The Ukraine U18 national team (players born in 2008 or later), currently holding a training camp in Croatia, began their participation in an international tournament taking place from October 5 to 16 in the city of Poreč.
In their opening match Ukraine faced the hosts and suffered a 0:2 defeat. The Ukrainians had a good chance to take the lead early on when, in the 13th minute, Dynamo’s Ivan Andreiko failed to beat the goalkeeper in a one-on-one situation. However, in the 30th minute, a defensive mistake allowed Croatia to score – Benkotić lobbed the keeper Baglai from near the halfway line after the Ukrainian goalie came too far off his line, making it 1:0.
Ukraine played the entire second half with a numerical advantage after a Croatian player was sent off late in the first half but the team couldn’t capitalize on it. Instead, near the end of the match, the blue-and-yellows conceded again when a ukrainian defender held Kusanović in the penalty area. Kusanović confidently converted the penalty himself to seal the 2:0 result.
Notably, three Dynamo Kyiv players took part in the match. Midfielder Pavlo Liusin, who captained the team, and forward Ivan Andreiko started the game – Lyusin played the full 90 minutes while Andreiko was substituted in the 52nd minute. Another Dynamo midfielder, Arsenii Fedorenko, came on as a substitute in the 62nd minute.
Ukraine’s next match in the tournament will take place on October 11 against Wales followed by a game against Sweden on October 14.
