Yakovenko names experienced Ukraine squad

Ukraine coach Pavlo Yakovenko has named a vastly experienced squad for the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Denmark, including captain Taras Stepanenko who was a major injury doubt.

Stepanenko had been considered unlikely to feature after missing FC Shakhtar Donetsk's Ukrainian Cup triumph and their end-of-season run-in due to a groin problem. However, the 21-year-old has recovered to take his place alongside fellow senior internationals Andriy Yarmolenko, Yaroslav Rakitskiy, Yevhen Konoplyanka, Artem Kravets, Roman Zozulya and Mykola Morozyuk in the squad for Ukraine's Group B matches against the Czech Republic, England and Spain.

"Taras is a key figure for our team and his absence would have been a big blow," said Yakovenko. "We are happy to have him in the squad and hope he'll be in good form before start of the tournament.

"We have been playing friendly matches at similar intervals to those we'll face in Denmark," the coach added. "We are trying to simulate the finals and give enough match practice to those who lacked it with their clubs."

Ukraine squad
Goalkeepers: Denys Boyko (FC Dynamo Kyiv), Dmytro Nepogodov (FC Metalurh Donetsk), Anton Kanibolotskiy (FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk).

Defenders: Oleksandr Matvyeyev (FC Vorskla Poltava), Yaroslav Rakitskiy (FC Shakhtar Donetsk), Temur Partsvaniya (FC Dynamo Kyiv), Yevhen Selin (FC Vorskla Poltava), Bohdan Butko (FC Volyn Lutsk), Serhiy Kryvtsov (FC Shakhtar Donetsk), Oleksiy Kurilov (FC Vorskla Poltava), Artem Putivtsev (FC Metalist Khrakiv).

Midfielders: Mykola Morozyuk (FC Metalurh Donetsk), Vitaliy Vitsenets (FC Shakhtar Donetsk), Denys Garmash (FC Dynamo Kyiv), Taras Stepanenko (FC Shakhtar Donetsk), Yevhen Konoplyanka (FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk), Volodymyr Chesnakov (FC Vorskla Poltava), Valeriy Fedorchuk (FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih), Oleg Golodyuk (FC Karpaty Lviv), Maxym Biliy (FC Zorya Luhansk).

Forwards: Andriy Yarmolenko (FC Dynamo Kyiv), Artem Kravets (FC Dynamo Kyiv), Roman Zozulya (FC Dynamo Kyiv).