European Championship-2024. Qualification. Group C. The third match
July 22, Saturday
Ukraine U-22 - Czech Republic U-22 - 1:3 (22:25, 25:22, 23:25, 18:25)
Starting line-up of the national team of Ukraine: Pyvovarenko (scored 15 points), Kuts (6), Tsmokalo (14), Dehtiar (1), Shteryk (11), Hetman (9), Yakovliev (l), Dzhul (l). Substitutes: Cheleniak (4), Donets (2), Antonenko (0).
On the eve of the match, the Czech volleyball players looked like the favorites of the match, because they easily beat Turkey (3:1) and Latvia (3:0) and led Group C with the maximum number of points - 6.
So in the decisive match for a direct ticket to the youth Euro-2024, a very strong opponent was waiting for the Ukrainians.
However, Andrii Levchenko's team did not loosen up, on the contrary, they were resisting the Czech volleyball players from the beginning. But in the first set, they were more often in the role of catching up (3:7 - 17:20). In the end, the starting part of the game remained for the Czech Republic - 22:25.
In the middle of the second set, the score was even (17:17). Two blocks and an opponent's serving error helped earn break points (20:17). "Blue and Yellows" felt confident in their actions and were able to equalize the score in sets - 25:22 and 1-1.
The next set, as it turned out, was "decisive", although not the last. At first, the Ukrainian volleyball players took the lead (5:2), but could not keep the advantage (8:8). Gradually, thanks to a good game in defense, the Czechs were able to take the lead (20:24). We must give credit to our athletes because they fought until the last point and were able to reduce the gap a little, but it turned out to be not enough to win the set - 23:25.
The fourth set was the final and, unfortunately, not the best for the "blue and yellows". An even score of 8:8 quickly turned into an advantage for the Czech Republic (11:15 - 12:18). The Ukrainians could not work a miracle and save this set - 23:25 and 1-3 in the end.
The most effective player in the national team of Ukraine was the opposite Daniil Pyvovarenko. He scored 15 points.
So, the Czech Republic gets a direct ticket to the final round of the 2024 European Youth Championship. And the Ukrainians will have to wait for the results of matches in other groups. The last of them will take place on the evening of July 23. Then the tournament standings in all groups will be determined and the two teams with the best results will go to Euro-2024. They will also be joined there by the host country - the Netherlands.
Now the tournament table of Group C looks like this:
