Ukraine national under-21 football team

Ukraine Under-21

Nickname(s)	Молодіжка (Young men)
Association	Ukrainian Association of Football
Head coach	Unai Melgosa
Captain	Arseniy Batahov
Most caps	Oleksandr Yatsenko (38)
Top scorer	Pylyp Budkivskyi (18)
Home stadium	Valeriy Lobanovskyi Dynamo Stadium
First colours Second colours Third colours
First international
Ukraine 0–0[1] Belarus  Ternopil,[2] 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.
Olympic Games
Appearances	1 (first in 2024)
Best result	Group stage (2024)
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 [football] team of Ukraine (Template:Lang-uk) 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).^[1] The game ended in scoreless tie and was attended by 4,000 people.^[1] 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.^[1] 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
Year	Host	Round	Pos.	Pld.	W	D	L	GF	GA
1900	Paris	did not qualify
1904	St. Louis
1908	London
1912	Stockholm
1920	Antwerp
1924	Paris
1928	Amsterdam
1936	Berlin
1948	London
1952	Helsinki
1956	Melbourne
1960	Rome
1964	Tokyo
1968	Mexico City
1972	Munich
1976	Montreal
1980	Moscow
1984	Los Angeles
1988	Seoul
1992	Barcelona
1996	Atlanta
2000	Sydney
2004	Athens
2008	Beijing
2012	London
2016	Rio de Janeiro
2020	Tokyo
2024	Paris	Qualified
2028	Los Angeles	To be determined
2032	Brisbane
Total			1/30	0	0	0	0	0	0

*Denotes draws including knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

**Since 1968, Spain has sent its under-23 national team.

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.^[3]

• 1994: Did not enter.
• 1996: Did not qualify. Finished 2nd of 6 in qualification group.
• 1998: Did not qualify. Finished 2nd of 5 in qualification group.
• 2000: Did not qualify. Finished 3rd of 5 in qualification group.
• 2002: Did not qualify. Finished 1st of 5 in qualification group. Lost qualification play-off to Switzerland.
• 2004: Did not qualify. Finished 3rd of 6 in qualification group.
• 2006: Runner-up. Finished 2nd of 7 in qualification group. Won qualification play-off over Belgium.
• 2007: Did not qualify. Finished 2nd of 3 in qualification group.
• 2009: Did not qualify. Finished 2nd of 5 in qualification group.
• 2011: Group Stage. Finished 1st of 5 in qualification group. Won qualification play-off over Netherlands
• 2013: Did not qualify. Finished 3rd of 6 in qualification group.
• 2015: Did not qualify. Finished 2nd of 5 in qualification group. Lost qualification play-off to Germany.
• 2017: Did not qualify. Finished 4th of 6 in qualification group.
• 2019: Did not qualify. Finished 3rd of 6 in qualification group.
• 2021: Did not qualify. Finished 3rd of 6 in qualification group.
• 2023: Qualified. Finished 2nd of 6 in qualification group. Won qualification play-off over Slovakia.

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

• Winners (2): 2009, 2019
• Runners-up (4): 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017

• Winner (1): 2014
• Runner-up (1): 2013

As of 10 September 2024

Manager[4]	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[5]		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	10	9	0	1	20	6	90	2025

Currently approved:^[6][7]

Position	Name
Head coach	Unai Melgosa
Assistant coach
	Kyrylo Mazur
	Imad Ashur
	Volodymyr Yezerskyi
Goalkeeping coach	Vitaliy Reva
Fitness coach	Andriy Shabalin

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 were called up for the 2025 Euro U21 qualification matches against  Serbia and  Northern Ireland on 6 and September 2024, respectively.^[8]

• Caps and goals correct as of 10 September 2024, after the match vs  Northern Ireland.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Ruslan Neshcheret	(2002-01-22) 22 January 2002 (age 22)	20	0	Dynamo Kyiv
23	1GK	Kiril Fesyun	(2002-08-07) 7 August 2002 (age 22)	7	0	Shakhtar Donetsk
12	1GK	Yakiv Kinareykin	(2003-10-22) 22 October 2003 (age 21)	2	0	Karpaty Lviv
16	2DF	Arseniy Batahov (captain)	(2002-03-05) 5 March 2002 (age 22)	33	1	Trabzonspor
13	2DF	Volodymyr Salyuk	(2002-06-25) 25 June 2002 (age 22)	12	0	Metalist 1925 Kharkiv
5	2DF	Vitaliy Roman	(2003-04-15) 15 April 2003 (age 21)	11	1	Rukh Lviv
15	2DF	Artem Smolyakov	(2003-05-29) 29 May 2003 (age 21)	7	0	Polissya Zhytomyr
4	2DF	Roman Didyk	(2002-12-02) 2 December 2002 (age 21)	3	0	Rukh Lviv
3	2DF	Illya Krupskyi	(2004-10-02) 2 October 2004 (age 20)	3	0	Vorskla Poltava
8	3MF	Oleh Ocheretko	(2003-05-25) 25 May 2003 (age 21)	23	4	Karpaty Lviv
21	3MF	Maksym Braharu	(2002-07-21) 21 July 2002 (age 22)	23	2	Dynamo Kyiv
22	3MF	Valentyn Rubchynskyi	(2002-02-15) 15 February 2002 (age 22)	12	1	Dynamo Kyiv
10	3MF	Yehor Yarmolyuk	(2004-03-01) 1 March 2004 (age 20)	12	1	Brentford
11	3MF	Nazar Voloshyn	(2003-06-17) 17 June 2003 (age 21)	10	4	Dynamo Kyiv
7	3MF	Illya Kvasnytsya	(2003-03-20) 20 March 2003 (age 21)	10	2	Rukh Lviv
18	3MF	Oleksandr Yatsyk	(2003-01-03) 3 January 2003 (age 21)	4	1	Zorya Luhansk
11	3MF	Ivan Varfolomeyev	(2004-03-24) 24 March 2004 (age 20)	3	0	Slovan Liberec
2	3MF	Maksym Melnychenko	(2005-02-12) 12 February 2005 (age 19)	2	0	Karpaty Lviv
17	3MF	Oleh Fedor	(2004-07-23) 23 July 2004 (age 20)	1	0	Rukh Lviv
14	3MF	Yaroslav Karabin	(2002-11-19) 19 November 2002 (age 21)	0	0	Rukh Lviv
9	4FW	Ihor Krasnopir	(2002-12-01) 1 December 2002 (age 21)	11	2	Rukh Lviv
20	4FW	Ihor Horbach	(2004-05-27) 27 May 2004 (age 20)	3	0	Zorya Luhansk

The following players have been called up for the team within the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Pavlo Isenko	(2003-07-21) 21 July 2003 (age 21)	0	0	Vorskla Poltava	v.  Morocco, 22 March 2024
DF	Taras Mykhavko	(2005-05-30) 30 May 2005 (age 19)	0	0	Dynamo Kyiv	v.  Serbia, 6 September 2024 PRE
DF	Kostyantyn Vivcharenko	(2002-06-10) 10 June 2002 (age 22)	26	2	Dynamo Kyiv	v.  Serbia, 6 September 2024 WD
DF	Bohdan Slyubyk	(2004-02-11) 11 February 2004 (age 20)	2	0	Rukh Lviv	v.  Morocco, 22 March 2024
DF	Danil Skorko	(2002-04-06) 6 April 2002 (age 22)	3	0	Oleksandriya	v.  Azerbaijan, 21 November 2023
DF	Eduard Kozik	(2003-04-19) 19 April 2003 (age 21)	0	0	Kolos Kovalivka	v.  Luxembourg, 17 November 2023 PRE
DF	Anton Bol	(2003-01-08) 8 January 2003 (age 21)	7	0	Zorya Luhansk	v.  Luxembourg, 12 October 2023 PRE
DF	Marian Faryna	(2003-08-28) 28 August 2003 (age 21)	2	0	Shakhtar Donetsk	v.  Luxembourg, 12 October 2023 PRE
MF	Maksym Khlan	(2003-01-27) 27 January 2003 (age 21)	7	0	Lechia Gdańsk	v.  Serbia, 6 September 2024 PRE
MF	Yevhen Pavlyuk	(2002-08-18) 18 August 2002 (age 22)	4	0	Vorskla Poltava	v.  Azerbaijan, 26 March 2024
MF	Borys Krushynskyi	(2002-05-10) 10 May 2002 (age 22)	1	0	Polissya Zhytomyr	v.  Azerbaijan, 26 March 2024
MF	Yevheniy Pastukh	(2004-03-19) 19 March 2004 (age 20)	1	0	Rukh Lviv	v.  Morocco, 22 March 2024
MF	Anton Tsarenko	(2004-06-17) 17 June 2004 (age 20)	0	0	Lechia Gdańsk	v.  Morocco, 22 March 2024 INJ
MF	Volodymyr Brazhko	(2002-01-23) 23 January 2002 (age 22)	21	2	Dynamo Kyiv	v.  Azerbaijan, 21 November 2023
MF	Maksym Kucheriavyi	(2002-05-09) 9 May 2002 (age 22)	5	1	St Johnstone	v.  Azerbaijan, 21 November 2023
FW	Bohdan Viunnyk	(2002-05-21) 21 May 2002 (age 22)	28	6	Lechia Gdańsk	v.  Azerbaijan, 21 November 2023
FW	Vladyslav Vanat	(2002-01-04) 4 January 2002 (age 22)	12	4	Dynamo Kyiv	v.  Luxembourg, 17 November 2023
FW	Yehor Hunichev	(2003-12-31) 31 December 2003 (age 20)	1	0	Mynai	v.  England, 16 October 2023
Notes INJ = Player withdrew from the squad because of injury. WD = Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue. RES = Reserves squad – replaces a member of the squad in case of injury/unavailability.

As of 10 September 2024^[9]

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. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (June 2013)

The following table shows Ukraine Under-21s all-time international record, correct as of 29 March 2021.^[10]

Key

	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	4	2	1	1	6	3	+3
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	6	1	1	4	5	11	-6
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
Luxembourg	UEFA	2	2	0	0	4	0	+4
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

• Serbia and Montenegro +1=1-1 2-4 (Yugoslavia)
• Kyrgyzstan national +1=0-0 4-0
• Norway u-23 +0=0-1 0-2
• England C +0=0-1 0-2

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

Last updated: 2 June 2016. Statistics include official FIFA-recognised matches only.

• Ukraine national football team
• European Under-21 Football Championship
• 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
• 2006 UEFA Under-21 Championship Finalists

• Official website of the Ukrainian Association of Football Under-21 Team
• Official website of the Ukrainian Association of Football Under-21 Team full results archive
• UEFA Under-21 website Contains full results archive
• UEFA Ukraine U-21 page Contains rosters and photographs.
• The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation Contains full record of U-21/U-23 Championships.
• Andrei Kudyrko. The Ukrainian youth: 1973 – 1983. Generation after generation (Украинская молодежь: 1973 - 1983. Поколение за поколением). UA-Football. 7 June 2006.