Ukraine started Euro U-19 with a victory over Croatia and topped their group
Kyiv • UNN
Ukraine U-19 beat Croatia 3:1 in the first round of the European Championship. The team topped the group, ahead of Italy on goal difference.
The Ukraine U-19 national team successfully started their performance at the European Junior Championship, securing a confident victory over the Croatian team with a score of 3:1, reports UNN.
Details
The Croats scored first in the match – in the 22nd minute, Ivan Barić converted a penalty. However, just four minutes later, Danylo Bohdanov restored parity after an assist from Pavlo Lyusin.
In the second half, the Ukrainian team completely seized the initiative. In the 48th minute, Mykyta Kaliuzhnyi put the "blue-yellows" ahead, and in the 57th minute, Pavlo Lyusin, assisted by Pavlo Sykut, set the final score – 3:1.
Ukraine leads Italy on goal difference
In another match of the group, Italy defeated Serbia and also scored three points. However, due to a better goal difference, it was the Ukrainian national team that topped the standings of its group after the first round.
Interestingly, before the start of the match, bookmakers considered the Croatian national team the favorite. Bets on the victory of the Croatian youths were accepted at odds of 1.4, while the victory of the Ukrainians was estimated at odds of over 4. However, the Ukrainian team managed to refute the predictions and start the tournament with an important victory.