On October 14, Ukraine’s U21 national team played their third match of the Euro 2027 qualifying round, away against Croatia. The game took place in the city of Velika Gorica at the local stadium of the same name and ended with a narrow 1:0 victory for the hosts who maintained the advantage throughout the match.
The first half ended goalless though Croatia looked closer to taking the lead. They managed to turn their advantage into a goal in the second half – after a free kick Grgić was first to react to the rebound and sent the ball into the net, making it 1:0. At the other end Ukraine created two good chances: Stepanov hit the post and Dynamo defender Mykhavko came close with a close-range header but the Croatian goalkeeper showed great reflexes to deny him.
All four Dynamo Kyiv players called up for the match took part in the game. Defender Vladyslav Zakharchenko, as well as midfielders Andrii Matkevych and Roman Salenko who are currently on loan at Zorya Luhansk, started in the lineup and played the full match. Defender Taras Mykhavko, who also started, was substituted late in the game – in the 81st minute.
After three matches played Ukraine’s U21 team has earned 4 points and currently sits third in the group standings. Turkey leads the group with one point more while Croatia is in second place, also with 4 points, but ahead of Ukraine on goal difference.
Each group winner will qualify directly for the UEFA Euro 2027 U21 Championship. The best runner-up across all nine groups will also qualify directly. The remaining eight runners-up will compete in playoff matches for the remaining spots in the final tournament.
Ukraine’s next Euro 2027 qualifying match will take place in a month – on November 14 away against Turkey.
