The Ukrainian national Under-21 football team will take part in the Olympic Games for the first time. They have qualified for the Olympics in Paris next year after reaching the semi-finals of Euro-2023.
This historic achievement came after the Ukrainian team’s victory against France in the quarter-finals of the youth Euro-2023. The match ended with a 3-1 score in favor of Ukraine.
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Olympic men’s soccer is an Under-23 tournament with three over-age players allowed in each squad.
Next, on July 5, the Ukrainian national team will compete in the semi-finals of the Euro-2023 against the Spanish team.
Ukraine’s participation in the football tournament at the Olympics marks only the fifth time in history that Ukraine will compete in a team sport at the Olympics. Within this tournament, only three spots for the 2024 Olympic Games are up for grabs.
Prior to the tournament in Georgia and Romania, the French national team secured a spot in the Olympics as the host nation, while Ukraine earned their qualification by defeating France.
The match against France began with Ukraine having an offside goal disallowed. Despite trailing 0-1 during the match, the Ukrainian players turned the game around, scoring two goals in the first half. Georgy Sudakov netted twice against the opponents, and Artem Bondarenko delighted Ukrainian fans with a goal in the second half.
In addition to his “double” against France, young football player Heorhiy Sudakov also scored a goal in the match against Spain. This propelled Sudakov to the top of the Euro-2023 (Under-21) goal scorer rankings.
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Four teams from Europe will be represented at the 2024 Olympics: France (as the host nation), as well as Israel, Spain, and Ukraine.
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