Ukrainian girls' futsal team wins historic first Youth Olympics gold
From the very start of the match, the Ukrainian players pressed aggressively near their opponents' goal, creating four dangerous scoring opportunities against Venezuela within the first five minutes.
Marharyta Ruchka opened the scoring with a goal in the seventh minute. Following that, the Venezuelan side mounted an active offensive, though Ukrainian goalkeeper Kira Hulenko repeatedly saved the net. However, in the 16th minute, Venezuelan player Elianis Paz equalized after an error by Alina Hordiienko.
At the start of the second half, Ukraine needed just seven seconds to retake the lead: Oksana Shevchuk delivered a pass nearly across the entire court to Ruchka, who fired the ball into the right corner of the net to make it 2–1.
Still, the "Blue and Yellows" could not hold onto their advantage: Venezuela equalized for a second time in the 31st minute through the efforts of Valeska Gutellas.
With four minutes remaining in the match, Yeva Shchavinska struck accurately into the far corner to put Ukraine back in front. Yet with just 20 seconds left in regulation time, the Venezuelan team equalized once again at 3–3.
In extra time, Adelina Vlasenko scored the decisive winning goal off an assist from Anhelina Zaporozhets.
What does Ukraine's result mean?
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12 of November 2026
