On Tuesday, October 7, Ukraine’s U17 national team (players born in 2009 or later) played their final match in the Euro 2026 qualifying round which will be held next year in Estonia.
In the first round of Euro 2026 (U17) qualification Ukraine was drawn into Group 1 with Estonia serving as the host of the mini-tournament. In their opening match Oleksandr Sytnyk’s side faced Montenegro – that game ended in a 1:1 draw. In their second match Ukraine defeated the hosts Estonia – 2:0.
In the third and decisive match, held in Tallinn, the blue-and-yellows faced Italy. A positive result – either a win or a draw – would have been enough for Ukraine to finish first or second in Group 1 and advance to the next qualification round in League A.
Unfortunately the game ended with a 2:1 victory for Italy. The Italians took the lead in the 34th minute through Joele Giammattei who curled a beautiful shot into the top corner past Stolyarenko – 0:1.
At the start of the second half Ukraine managed to equalize. In the 55th minute Dynamo Kyiv forward Volodymyr Kvikviniya, who had just come on as a substitute, took advantage of a mix-up between the Italian goalkeeper and defender to head the ball into an empty net – 1:1.
However the decisive moment came in the 85th minute when, after sustained pressure on the Ukrainian goal, Diego Perillo found himself one-on-one with the keeper and made no mistake – 1:2.
As a result Ukraine U17 finished third in Group 1 and did not advance to the second qualifying round of Euro 2026 in League A. Oleksandr Sytnyk’s team will continue their Euro 2026 (U17) qualification campaign in League B.
It’s worth noting that two Dynamo Kyiv players took part in the match. Midfielder Yaroslav Buravtsov started the game and was substituted in the 54th minute while forward Volodymyr Kvikviniya came on in his place and went on to score Ukraine’s only goal.
