Team Ukraine U17 Opens the Second Round of Euro 2025 Qualifying: Match Result Against Croatia

Oleksandr Sytnyk's squad lost its first points.

Ukraine's U17 national football team lost to Croatia in the opening match of the second round of Junior Euro 2025 qualifying. The 'yellow-and-blues' lost 1:2 in Karlovac, Croatia.

In the second qualifying round, Europe's 28 best under-17 teams were split into seven groups. Group winners advance to the final tournament, joining host nation Albania. Meanwhile, the seven teams that finish fourth in their groups will drop to League B of the next European Championship's qualifying cycle.

After advancing through the fall qualifying round, Oleksandr Sytnyk's squad drew Croatia, Italy, and Slovakia U17 as opponents, and played its first match against the group's 'hosts.'

Ukraine U17 — Croatia U17: Match Recap

• Heading into the match against Ukraine, the Croatians hadn't lost in seven straight matches, and had averaged two goals per game across their last five. The same pattern held here — in the first half, in the 22nd minute, 'checkered' forward Tino Kušanović opened the scoring, and ten minutes later, completed a brace, doubling his team's lead.

• The Ukrainians couldn't claw back the deficit in the first half, but came close in the second — midfielder Petro Liusin converted a penalty.

• After that, the national team had a few more chances against Matej Grahovac's goal, but couldn't restore parity by the final whistle. So the 'yellow-and-blues' lost to the Croatians, 1:2, dropping to provisional last place in Group 1.

Ukraine's next match will be against Team Italy, taking place March 22 at 13:00. The Azzurri, meanwhile, will play their own opening match of the second qualifying round today, March 19, at 16:30 — against Slovakia.

2025 European U17 Championship: Tournament Essentials

• The European U17 Championship is an annual tournament held under the auspices of UEFA and is the largest youth national-team event in Europe. The 2025 European Championship final tournament will take place May 19 – June 1 in Albania.

• At Euro 2024, Ukraine advanced to the championship's final stage, but finished its campaign at the group stage, placing third in its group.
• The final stage of the 2025 Junior European Championship will also serve as qualifying for the 2025 U17 World Championship, to be held in Qatar.