PARSIPPANY, N.J. – Ukraine’s men’s national team advanced to the Euro 2016 European soccer championship after a 1-1 draw with Slovenia on November 17 in Maribor. Slovenia opened the scoring in the 11th minute by Bostjan Cesar and Andriy Yarmolenko equalized for Ukraine in extra time of the second half (90 +7).
Ukraine won 2-0 against Slovenia on November 14 in Lviv in the first-leg match of the playoff stage. Yarmolenko opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, and Yevhen Seleznyov scored in the 54th minute.
After the two matches, Ukraine led 3-1 on aggregate goals. During the Euro 2000, Slovenia had denied Ukraine a spot during the play-off stage.
Mykhailo Fomenko, head coach of the Ukrainian National Team, stated: “First of all, I would like to thank all the players from the heart for their ceaseless work. For a battle like that out there, you have to be really well prepared both physically and mentally. Compliments also go to the entire leadership structure of the national team and the federation. In the dressing room there really was a lot of joy, a lot of emotion. Those last few minutes were unbelievably tense. It was difficult, but I am convinced that we deserved our ticket for the Euro. Now we must start afresh. A lot of work lies ahead to prepare properly for France 2016.”
Seleznyov commented: “We knew it would be a tough match. Slovenia came out strong in the first half and managed to get back into the tie with that goal. But we played better in the second half and got the result we needed. We’re very happy we get to play in France.”
Ukraine will join Slovakia, Iceland, Belgium, Wales, Albania (all debutantes to the tournament), Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Spain, England, Switzerland, Northern Ireland, Romania, Austria, Russia, Italy, Croatia, Portugal, Sweden, Hungary and tournament hosts France. The tournament draw will be held on June 10, 2016, with matches beginning on July 10, 2016.
Ukraine and Poland co-hosted the 2012 European championship, and Ukraine was denied a place at the 2014 World Cup after being eliminated by France. Like the quadrennial World Cup, the Euro Cup is also held on a quadrennial schedule. Matches are to be held in 10 cities, including Bordeaux, Lens, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Paris, Saint-Denis, Saint-Etienne and Toulouse.
Ukraine (ranked in 28th place by FIFA for November) is in pot two, ranks in 14th place (with a goal coefficient of 30.313) among the teams, and is grouped with Italy, Russia, Switzerland, Austria and Croatia.
The winning team of the European championship earns the right to compete in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, hosted by Russia.
Ukraine’s National Team prior to the match.
U-17 team advances to Euro 2016
in Azerbaijan
Ukraine’s Under-17 (U-17) team qualified for the U-17 Euro 2016 hosted by Azerbaijan. The final draw will be held in April 2016 in Azerbaijan, with 16 teams divided into four groups. In the qualifying round, Ukraine led Group 13 in first place after three matches played, with two wins, one draw and no losses, with six goals for and one against, and a final point tally of seven. Ukraine tied 1-1 with Moldova on October 26, won 2-0 against Estonia on October 28, and won 3-0 against Bosnia-Herzegovina on October 31.
Other first-place teams in each group that qualified for the tournament include: the Netherlands, Russia, Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, Austria, Spain, the Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Belgium, France and Italy.
Second-place teams in each group were: Switzerland, Montenegro, Sweden, Georgia, Serbia, Poland, Croatia, Greece, Portugal, Turkey, Israel, Bulgaria, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Third-place teams advancing to the elite round include: Iceland, Finland, Scotland, Slovenia and Wales. Germany has a bye to the elite round after being ranked as the top seed in the tournament.