On Friday, March 27, the Ukraine U21 national team drew with Lithuania in the Euro 2027 qualifiers — 1:1. Vladyslav Krapyvtsov started the match and played the full game in Brave GK Air Aqua goalkeeper gloves.
Lithuania U21 goalkeeper Arnaus Voitynovychius also played this match in Brave GK gloves. This is the first time that in an official match for different youth national teams, two goalkeepers wearing Brave GK models played at the same time.
Below, we take a closer look at how the Ukraine U21 vs Lithuania U21 match unfolded, how Krapyvtsov played, and how the Brave GK Air Aqua gloves performed in this game.
The match in Košice turned out to be difficult and tense for the Ukraine U21 national team. Before the game, Unai Melgosa’s side was in third place in Group H and no longer had much of a points cushion, so the meeting with Lithuania, who were in last place, was important from a tournament standpoint. Ukraine controlled the initiative, but could not turn it into a calm match with a comfortable advantage.
The score was opened only in the 61st minute. Illia Krupskyi joined the attack down the left flank, spotted Danylo Krevsun and delivered an accurate ball into the penalty area, where he scored his second goal for the youth national team. But Ukraine failed to hold the lead: already in the 70th minute, Lithuania equalized after a long-range shot by Ernestas Gudelevičius and a headed follow-up by Faustas Steponavičius. In the end, Ukraine drew 1:1, took only one point, and extended its winless run in qualifying to four matches.
For Vladyslav Krapyvtsov, this was an important match for the youth national team and valuable experience of playing in the official Euro 2027 qualifying campaign. On this day, not only his reactions and positioning mattered, but also the predictable performance of the gloves throughout the entire game. The Girona goalkeeper chose Brave GK Air Aqua goalkeeper gloves for the match against Lithuania.
In a game like this, a snug fit, confident contact with the ball, and wrist freedom in every situation are especially important. Brave GK Air Aqua are built precisely around these demands. The 4 mm aqua latex palm helps maintain grip when in contact with the ball, while the 4 mm foam backing softens the impact and makes handling more secure.
The classic Rollfinger cut increases the contact area, while the Fix Fit system with internal silicone elements helps keep the hand in the correct position and prevents it from shifting inside the glove.
Another advantage of the model is the natural movement of the wrist. Brave GK Air Aqua do not have rigid finger protection, so the gloves do not restrict movement and allow for quicker reactions in game situations. And the breathable blue mesh on the backhand helps the hand overheat less during the match.
After the game against Lithuania, the Ukraine U21 national team still had one more March match left — on March 31, the team will play against Hungary U21. Kick-off is at 17:30.
Then the Ukraine U21 national team will have two more matches in the autumn — against Turkey and Croatia.
