Maldera: Mykhaylenko's fantastic work earned him this new challenge

Ukraine senior team head coach Andrea Maldera has backed Dmytro Mykhaylenko after he was appointed to lead the country's Under-21 side. "Another big and wonderful piece of news for Ukrainian football this week. Dmytro Mykhaylenko has been named head coach of the Ukraine U-21 national team. Through his fantastic work with the U-19 squad, he proved he fully deserves this new challenge. I sincerely wish him every success! I'm glad we can build a unified system and work together for the future of Ukrainian football," Maldera wrote on Instagram. Mykhaylenko takes over from Unai Melgosa. He previously coached the U-19 team, guiding them to the semifinals of the 2026 European Under-19 Championship. Ukraine U-21 are currently competing in qualifying for the 2027 European Under-21 Championship, sitting third in their group. Their next match is against Turkey on September 26.