The Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) has officially announced the appointment of a new head coach for Ukraine's U-19 youth national team. The position has been taken by Oleh Luzhnyi — a former defender for Kyiv's Dynamo and London's Arsenal, best known primarily as a player, and now also as a coach. This is reported by Sport RBC.UA, citing the organization's official website. The decision represents a notable personnel move within the national team system and fills the vacancy left after the departure of the previous coach.
A Change at the Helm: Who Replaced Whom
In the role of head coach of the youth team, Luzhnyi replaced Dmytro Mykhailenko, who had previously moved to work with Ukraine's U-21 national team. Thus, the UAF carried out a vertical rotation within the coaching staff: one specialist was promoted to the older age category, while another took his place in the U-19 setup. For the 57-year-old Luzhnyi, this is his first experience leading a national team, which makes the appointment both logical and innovative: the federation is entrusting the team to a person with a rich club background but, so far, untested experience at the "national team" level.
Debut and Upcoming Schedule
The "blue and yellow" will play their first matches under the new coach at the end of September during a training camp in Spain. As part of a friendly tournament, the Ukrainian team will play three sparring matches, which will serve as Luzhnyi's first practical exams and an opportunity to form the core of the squad. The choice of Spain as the camp venue is traditionally driven by the favorable weather and infrastructure conditions for autumn training cycles.
Qualification for Euro 2027: The Main Challenge
A truly serious test for the new coach will be the second group stage of the Euro 2027 qualification, which kicks off in November. Ukraine's opponents in the fight for a place in the final tournament will be the national teams of Italy, Israel, and Romania. To advance to the decisive round of selection, the Ukrainians need to finish in one of the top three places in the group. This means that already in November, Luzhnyi will have to build a results-oriented game against strong and consistent opponents, and the friendly sparring matches in Spain will become a key stage of preparation for this stretch.
Luzhnyi's Coaching Path
In his coaching career, Luzhnyi has already led Simferopol's Tavriya and Latvia's Ventspils, and has twice served as acting head coach of Kyiv's Dynamo. In addition, the specialist spent many years working at the capital's grand club as an assistant in the staffs of Valery Gazzaev, Yuri Semin, and Oleksandr Khatskevych, which gave him deep experience working within a major club's system. Since January 2024, he has headed the UAF's Professional Football Committee, meaning he is inside the federation's structure and well familiar with its internal processes. All these factors make his appointment as U-19 coach a logical step in the specialist's career.
Context: What Else Is Happening in Ukrainian Football
Luzhnyi's appointment comes against the backdrop of the UAF's active work with national teams of various ages and regular wrap-ups in club football: earlier, the UPL announced the best player and coach for August. Overall, the reshuffle in the U-19 fits the logic of updating coaching staffs ahead of the start of a responsible stretch of qualification, where the coach's early decisions will determine the team's further fate in the Euro 2027 selection.
