In today's article we are going to delve into the fascinating world of Ukraine national under-21 football team, a topic that has captured the attention of experts and fans alike. Since its emergence, Ukraine national under-21 football team has demonstrated its impact on various aspects of society, science, culture and history. Over the years, it has been the subject of debate, study and research, and its influence has continued to evolve over time. In this in-depth exploration of Ukraine national under-21 football team, we will examine its origins, its relevance in today's world, and the various perspectives that exist around this topic. Prepare to immerse yourself in a journey that promises to surprise, excite and educate, as we discover together the exciting universe of Ukraine national under-21 football team.
Nickname(s) | Молодіжка (Young men) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Association | Ukrainian Association of Football | |||
Head coach | Unai Melgosa | |||
Captain | Volodymyr Brazhko | |||
Most caps | Oleksandr Yatsenko (38) | |||
Top scorer | Pylyp Budkivskyi (18) | |||
Home stadium | Valeriy Lobanovskyi Dynamo Stadium | |||
| ||||
First international | ||||
Ukraine 0–0 Belarus Ternopil, Ukraine; 28 October 1992 | ||||
Biggest win | ||||
Ukraine 8–0 Armenia Kyiv, Ukraine; 13 October 1998 | ||||
Biggest defeat | ||||
France 4–0 Ukraine Paris, France; 26 March 1999 Note: Records for competitive matches only. | ||||
UEFA U-21 Championship | ||||
Appearances | 3 (first in 2006) | |||
Best result | Runners-up (2006) |
The Ukraine national under-21 football team is also known as Youth team of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Молодіжна збірна України) is one of junior national football teams of Ukraine for participation in under-21 international competitions. The team is managed by the Ukrainian Association of Football staff, committee of national teams. The team participates in qualifications to the Olympic competitions and the continental (UEFA) U-21 competitions.
Their first game the team played was on 28 October 1992. Its first competition the team entered in 1994 the qualification round for the 1996 European Under-21 Championship. The team has qualified for a tournament twice. The under-21s not only qualified for the 2006 European Under-21 Championship, but also reached the final, where they lost to Netherlands on 4 June 2006 by 3–0. The under-21s also qualified to the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship that was held in Denmark.
Its first game under national flag the team played on 28 October 1992 by hosting Belarus national under-21 football team in a friendly game in Ternopil (Ternopil City Stadium). The game ended in scoreless tie and was attended by 4,000 people. The initial squad consisted of following players Sergei Aleksandrov, Dmytro Parfenov, Serhiy Fedorov, Oleksandr Koval, Vladyslav Vashchuk, Vitaliy Kosovskyi, Ihor Luchkevych, Serhiy Onopko, Vladimir Lebed, Hennadiy Moroz, Vitaliy Pushkutsa, Kostyantyn Pinchuk, Oleg Solovyov, Ruslan Romanchuk, Oleksandr Karabuta. Later two out of the squad Lebed and Aleksandrov continued to play for Russian national teams.
In August 1993, the Ukraine youth squad took part in its first tournament where it contested few teams outside of Europe. Its first competitive tournament became the Youth Euro 1996 where it was eliminated in qualification group. Its first game Ukraine U-21 played at home against its opponents from Lithuania on 6 September 1994.
It took Ukraine another 10 years to finally qualify to the tournament final when in 2006 it almost won the tournament losing in the final game to Netherlands which earned its first title instead.
As U-23 team
Olympic Games record | ||||||||||
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Year | Host | Round | Pos. | Pld. | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
1900 | did not qualify | |||||||||
1904 | ||||||||||
1908 | ||||||||||
1912 | ||||||||||
1920 | ||||||||||
1924 | ||||||||||
1928 | ||||||||||
1936 | ||||||||||
1948 | ||||||||||
1952 | ||||||||||
1956 | ||||||||||
1960 | ||||||||||
1964 | ||||||||||
1968 | ||||||||||
1972 | ||||||||||
1976 | ||||||||||
1980 | ||||||||||
1984 | ||||||||||
1988 | ||||||||||
1992 | ||||||||||
1996 | ||||||||||
2000 | ||||||||||
2004 | ||||||||||
2008 | ||||||||||
2012 | ||||||||||
2016 | ||||||||||
2020 | ||||||||||
2024 | Qualified | |||||||||
2028 | To be determined | |||||||||
2032 | ||||||||||
Total | 1/30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Since 1984, it is an official U-21 European championship. Since 1992, the tournament doubles as qualifying competition for the Olympic Games every four years.
UEFA European Under-21 Championship | UEFA European Under-21 Championship Qualification | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
1960–1992 | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | |||||||||||||
1994 | Did not enter | Did not enter | |||||||||||||
1996 | Did not qualify | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 24 | 12 | ||||||||
1998 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 4 | |||||||||
2000 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 12 | |||||||||
2002 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 16 | 17 | |||||||||
2004 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 5 | |||||||||
2006 | Runner-up | 2nd | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 27 | 11 | |
2007 | Did not qualify | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||||||||
2009 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 7 | |||||||||
2011 | Group Stage | 8th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 8 | |
2013 | Did not qualify | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 21 | 10 | ||||||||
2015 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 20 | 13 | |||||||||
2017 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 12 | |||||||||
2019 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 18 | 12 | |||||||||
2021 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 17 | 11 | |||||||||
2023 | Semi-Finals | 3rd | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 8 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 25 | 14 | |
2025 | |||||||||||||||
Total | Runner-up | 3/15 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 124 | 64 | 23 | 37 | 218 | 132 |
Manager | Nation | Ukraine career | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | GA | Win % | Qualifying cycle | Final tour |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Volodymyr Muntian | 1992–1994 | 15 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 25 | 12 | 53.33 | 1996 | ||
Viktor Kolotov | 1995 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 10 | 42.86 | 1996 | ||
Oleksandr Ishchenko | 1996–1997 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 6 | 63.64 | 1998 | ||
Viktor Kolotov | 1998–1999 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 32 | 16 | 50 | 2000 | ||
Volodymyr Onyschenko | 1999–2001 | 21 | 9 | 3 | 9 | 23 | 31 | 42.86 | 2000, 2002 | ||
Anatoliy Kroshchenko | 2002 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 2004 | ||
Pavlo Yakovenko | 2002–2004 | 20 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 24 | 20 | 40 | 2004, 2006 | ||
Hennadiy Lytovchenko | 2003–2004 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 50 | |||
Oleksiy Mykhaylichenko | 2004–2007 | 41 | 21 | 6 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 51.22 | 2006, 2007, 2009 | 2006 | |
Volodymyr Muntian (caretaker) | 2008 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 0 | |||
Pavlo Yakovenko | 2008–2012 | 70 | 31 | 25 | 14 | 109 | 66 | 44.29 | 2009, 2011, 2013 | 2011 | |
Serhiy Kovalets | 2013–2015 | 47 | 26 | 8 | 13 | 94 | 50 | 55.32 | 2013, 2015 | ||
Oleksandr Holovko | 2015–2018 | 25 | 13 | 7 | 5 | 49 | 34 | 52 | 2017, 2019 | ||
Ruslan Rotan | 2018–2023 | 47 | 23 | 12 | 12 | 79 | 55 | 48.94 | 2021, 2023 | 2023 | |
Unai Melgosa | 2023–present | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 4 | 87.5 | 2025 |
Head coach | Unai Melgosa |
16 June 2023 Friendly | Republic of Ireland | 2–2 | Ukraine | Blumau, Austria |
19:00 | Report | Stadium: Union sport club Blumau |
21 June 2023 U21 Euro 2023 GS | Ukraine | 2–0 | Croatia | Bucharest, Romania |
19:00 | Report | Stadium: Stadionul Rapid-Giulești Attendance: 1,677 Referee: Mohammed Al-Hakim (Sweden) |
24 June 2023 U21 Euro 2023 GS | Romania | 0–1 | Ukraine | Bucharest, Romania |
19:00 | Report | Dican 89' (o.g.) | Stadium: Stadionul Steaua Attendance: 14,309 Referee: Morten Krogh (Denmark) |
27 June 2023 U21 Euro 2023 GS | Spain | 2–2 | Ukraine | Bucharest, Romania |
21:45 | Report | Stadium: Stadionul Rapid-Giulești Attendance: 2,027 Referee: Donatas Rumšas (Lithuania) |
2 July 2023 U21 Euro 2023 QF | France | 1–3 | Ukraine | Cluj-Napoca, Romania |
22:00 |
|
Report |
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Stadium: Cluj Arena Attendance: 6,281 Referee: João Pinheiro (Portugal) |
5 July 2023 U21 Euro 2023 SF | Spain | 5–1 | Ukraine | Bucharest, Romania |
22:00 | Report |
|
Stadium: Stadionul Steaua Attendance: 9,230 Referee: Erik Lambrechts (Belgium) |
8 September 2023 Friendly | Germany | 2–0 | Ukraine | Saarbrücken, Germany |
19:15 | Report | Stadium: Ludwigsparkstadion Attendance: 6,503 Referee: Jasmin Sabotic (Luxembourg) |
12 September 2023 U21 Euro 2025 Qualification | Ukraine | 1–0 | Northern Ireland | Poprad, Slovakia |
18:30 | Roman 70' | Report | Stadium: NTC Poprad Attendance: 275 Referee: Kai Erik Steen (Norway) |
12 October 2023 U21 Euro 2025 Qualification | Luxembourg | 0–3 | Ukraine | Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg |
20:30 | Report |
|
Stadium: Stade Émile Mayrisch Attendance: 661 Referee: Vilhjalmur Thorarinsson (Iceland) |
16 October 2023 U21 Euro 2025 Qualification | Ukraine | 3–2 | England | Košice, Slovakia |
18:30 |
|
Report | Stadium: Košická futbalová aréna Attendance: 3,245 Referee: Gustavo Correia (Portugal) |
17 November 2023 U21 Euro 2025 Qualification | Ukraine | 4–0 | Luxembourg | Murcia, Spain |
19:00 | Report | Stadium: Estadio Nueva Condomina Attendance: 1,026 Referee: Sandi Putros (Denmark) |
21 November 2023 U21 Euro 2025 Qualification | Ukraine | 1–0 | Azerbaijan | Murcia, Spain |
19:00 | Report | Stadium: Estadio Nueva Condomina Attendance: 880 Referee: Irakli Kvirikashvili (Georgia) |
22 March 2024 Friendly | Morocco | 0–1 | Ukraine | Aksu, Antalya, Turkey |
20:00 | Report |
|
Stadium: Mardan Sports Complex Referee: Halim Kolanci (Turkey) |
26 March 2024 U21 Euro 2025 Qualification | Azerbaijan | 0–3 | Ukraine | Baku, Azerbaijan |
14:00 | Report |
|
Stadium: Azersun Arena Referee: Dario Bel (Croatia) |
6 September 2024 U21 Euro 2025 Qualification | Ukraine | v | Serbia | |
TBD | Report |
10 September 2024 U21 Euro 2025 Qualification | Northern Ireland | v | Ukraine | |
TBD | Report |
11 October 2024 U21 Euro 2025 Qualification | England | v | Ukraine | |
TBD | Report |
15 October 2024 U21 Euro 2025 Qualification | Serbia | v | Ukraine | |
TBD | Report |
Players born in 2002 or later are eligible for the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification. Names in bold denote players who have been capped for the senior team. Names in italics denote players who not available for calling up anymore, because of the age limits.
The following players have been called up for the team within the last 12 months.
Rank | Player | Goals | Caps | Average | Period |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Pylyp Budkivskyi | 18 | 23 | 0.78 | 2011–2013 |
2 | Danylo Sikan | 9 | 19 | 0.47 | 2019–2023 |
3 | Oleksandr Aliyev | 8 | 30 | 0.27 | 2003–2006 |
4 | Nazariy Rusyn | 7 | 11 | 0.64 | 2018–2019 |
Andriy Totovytskyi | 7 | 12 | 0.58 | 2013 | |
Serhiy Rebrov | 7 | 17 | 0.41 | 1993–1995 | |
Artem Byesyedin | 7 | 17 | 0.41 | 2015–2017 | |
Ruslan Fomin | 7 | 20 | 0.35 | 2005–2008 | |
Oleksiy Byelik | 7 | 29 | 0.24 | 2000–2003 | |
Artem Milevskyi | 7 | 31 | 0.23 | 2003–2006 |
This section needs to be updated.(June 2013) |
The following table shows Ukraine Under-21s all-time international record, correct as of 29 March 2021.
Positive balance (more wins) | |
Neutral balance (equal W/L ratio) | |
Negative balance (more losses) |
Against | Confederation | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | GA | GD |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Albania | UEFA | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 2 | +15 |
Andorra | UEFA | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | +7 |
Armenia | UEFA | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 3 | +28 |
Austria | UEFA | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | +0 |
Azerbaijan | UEFA | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 |
Bahrain | AFC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 |
Belarus | UEFA | 14 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 19 | 12 | +7 |
Belgium | UEFA | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | +3 |
Bulgaria | UEFA | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 11 | -1 |
Chile | CONMEBOL | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 |
China | AFC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 |
Croatia | UEFA | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 |
Czech Republic | UEFA | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 13 | -8 |
Cyprus | UEFA | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 |
Denmark | UEFA | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 16 | 17 | -1 |
Egypt | CAF | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 |
England | UEFA | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 9 | -7 |
Estonia | UEFA | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 5 | +8 |
Finland | UEFA | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 |
France | UEFA | 9 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 14 | -6 |
Georgia | UEFA | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 28 | 12 | +16 |
Germany | UEFA | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 14 | -12 |
Greece | UEFA | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 2 | +9 |
Hungary | UEFA | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | -2 |
Iceland | UEFA | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 10 | +3 |
Iran | AFC | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 7 | +3 |
Northern Ireland | UEFA | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 6 | +7 |
Israel | UEFA | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 7 | +1 |
Italy | UEFA | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 6 | -3 |
Kazakhstan | UEFA | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 |
South Korea | AFC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 |
Kosovo | UEFA | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
Kyrgyzstan | AFC | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 |
Latvia | UEFA | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 6 | +13 |
Liechtenstein | UEFA | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 3 | +13 |
Lithuania | UEFA | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 23 | 14 | +9 |
Libya | CAF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 |
North Macedonia | UEFA | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 5 | +0 |
Malta | UEFA | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 4 | +15 |
Moldova | UEFA | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 23 | 5 | +18 |
Montenegro | UEFA | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 |
Netherlands | UEFA | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 13 | -7 |
Norway | UEFA | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 10 | -8 |
Poland | UEFA | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 14 | +1 |
Portugal | UEFA | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | +0 |
Romania | UEFA | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 13 | -8 |
Russia | UEFA | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 9 | +1 |
Saudi Arabia | AFC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 |
Scotland | UEFA | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 5 | +8 |
Slovakia | UEFA | 8 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 6 | +1 |
Slovenia | UEFA | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 6 | +12 |
Serbia | UEFA | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 7 | -2 |
Spain | UEFA | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | -4 |
Sweden | UEFA | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 3 | +4 |
Switzerland | UEFA | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 6 | +1 |
Syria | AFC | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | +0 |
Tajikistan | AFC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 |
Turkey | UEFA | 13 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 19 | 14 | +5 |
Turkmenistan | AFC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 |
United States | CONCACAF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +0 |
Uzbekistan | AFC | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 |
Wales | UEFA | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 |
Since the game Ukraine v Belarus (28 October 1992), Ukraine youth team have played their home games at 19 different stadiums.
Venue | City | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | GA | Points per game |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
VVL Dynamo | Kyiv | 43 | 20 | 17 | 6 | 76 | 36 | 1.79 |
Bannikov | Kyiv | 13 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 24 | 11 | 2.08 |
Obolon Arena | Kyiv | 12 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 22 | 8 | 1.75 |
Boreks | Borodianka | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 2 |
Tsentralnyi | Cherkasy | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 1.8 |
Shakhtar | Chervonohrad | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 3 |
Dynamo Training Center | Kyiv, Koncha-Zaspa | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 2.33 |
CSK ZSU | Kyiv | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 3 |
Lokomotyv | Donetsk | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
Kolos | Boryspil | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Sevastopol | Sevastopol | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
Slavutych-Arena | Zaporizhzhia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1.5 |
Arena Lviv | Lviv | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1.5 |
Auto ZAZ | Zaporizhzhia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
SKA | Odesa | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
Metalist | Kharkiv | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
Ternopilsky | Ternopil | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Ukraina | Lviv | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Illichivets | Mariupol | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
Totals | 102 | 55 | 32 | 15 | 196 | 79 | 1.94 |