Ukraine national football team

Ukraine
Nickname(s)	Синьо-жовті (The Blue and Yellow); Збірна (The National Team)
Association	Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF); Українська Асоціація Футболу
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Serhiy Rebrov
Captain	Andriy Yarmolenko
Most caps	Anatoliy Tymoshchuk (144)
Top scorer	Andriy Shevchenko (48)
Home stadium	from the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine - Various in other countries (Poland, Czech Republic, Germany)
FIFA code	UKR
First colours	Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	25 1 (24 October 2024)
Highest	11 (February 2007)
Lowest	132 (September 1993)
First international
	Ukraine 1–3 Hungary ; (Uzhhorod, Ukraine; 29 April 1992)
Biggest win
	Ukraine 9–0 San Marino ; (Lviv, Ukraine; 6 September 2013)
Biggest defeat
	France 7–1 Ukraine ; (Saint-Denis, France; 7 October 2020)
World Cup
Appearances	1 (first in 2006)
Best result	Quarter-finals (2006)
European Championship
Appearances	4 (first in 2012)
Best result	Quarter-finals (2020)
Website	uaf.ua

The Ukraine national football team (Ukrainian: Збірна України з футболу) represents Ukraine in men's international football, and is governed by the Ukrainian Association of Football, the governing body for football in Ukraine. Ukraine's home ground is the Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kyiv. The team has been a full member of UEFA and FIFA since 1992.

After the restoration of the Ukrainian independence, they played their first match against Hungary on 29 April 1992. The team reached the quarter-finals in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, their debut in the finals of a major championship.^[3] Apart from Russia, Ukraine is the only post-Soviet state to qualify for the FIFA World Cup finals.

As the host nation, Ukraine automatically qualified for UEFA Euro 2012.^[3] Four years later, Ukraine finished third in their qualifying group for Euro 2016 and advanced via the play-off route to reach a UEFA European Championship tournament through the qualifiers for the first time. This marked the first time in Ukraine's six play-off appearances that it managed to win such a tie, having lost previous play-off ties for the 1998 World Cup, Euro 2000, the 2002 World Cup, the 2010 World Cup and the 2014 World Cup, and would lose again in the 2022 World Cup play-offs.

Ukraine's best performances in the UEFA European Championship and in the World Cup were in 2020 and 2006 respectively, in both cases reaching the quarter-finals for the first time.

History

Ukrainian SSR (1924–1990)

The national team was formed in the early 1990s and was recognized internationally soon afterwards. It is not widely known, however, that Ukraine previously had a national team in 1924–1935.^[4]^[5] Just like the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic had its own national team. The national team included the players Andriy Ponomarenko, Ivan Privalov, Volodymyr Fomin, H. Syrota, Mykola Fomin, Anatoliy Lisnyi, Oleksandr Shatokha (goalkeeper), Dmytro Kyryllov, Dmytro Starusev, Serhiy Kopeiko, Petro Parovyshnykov (first team); Valentyn Prokofyev, Fedir Tyutchev, H. Yakubovskyi, Ivan Vladymyrskyi, Serafim Moskvin (goalkeeper), Kazymyr Piontkovskyi, Mykhailo Pashuta, Vasiliy Yepishin, Adam Bem, K. Us, Volodymyr Prasolov (second team).^[6]^[7]

The earliest record of games played by Ukraine can be traced back to August 1928. A championship among the national teams of the Soviet republics as well as the Moscow city team was planned to take place in Moscow; at the All-Soviet tournament, Ukraine reached the final where it lost to Moscow 1–0, after defeating Belarus and Transcaucasus.

In 1929, Ukraine beat Lower Austria in an exhibition match in Kharkiv 4–1, and played in another Soviet tournament. Ukraine lost to Transcaucasus 3–0.

Official formation

Before 1991, Ukrainian players were represented by the Soviet Union national team. After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Russia took place in the qualifying tournament for the 1994 World Cup. The national team of Ukraine did not manage to enter the tournament^[8] on account of it not yet being admitted to FIFA. Meanwhile, some of the best Ukrainian players of the beginning of the 1990s (including Andrei Kanchelskis, Viktor Onopko, Sergei Yuran, Yuriy Nikiforov, Ilya Tsymbalar and Oleg Salenko) chose to play for Russia. At that time Vyacheslav Koloskov was the only top official from the former Soviet Union and later Russia who served as a vice-president of UEFA in 1980–1996 and represented the Soviet Union and later the Commonwealth of Independent States.

The Soviet Union's five-year UEFA coefficient, despite being earned in part by Ukrainian players (for example, in the final of the last successful event, Euro 1988, under the direction of Valery Lobanovsky, 7 out of the 11 starting players were Ukrainians^[9]), were transferred to the Russia national team. As a result, a crisis was created for both the national team and the domestic league.

Another reason for the occurred harsh crisis in the Ukrainian football was lack of adequate funding of teams,^[10] due to the general economic crisis that has affected all of the CIS countries.^[10] There also was a reverse influx of players;^[10] Viktor Leonenko agreed on transfer from Dynamo Moscow to Dynamo Kyiv. The Russian club did not want to release him, but Leonenko did not want to continue to play in Moscow.^[10]

In the following years, the Ukrainian team improved, showcasing talents like Andriy Shevchenko, Serhiy Rebrov, and Oleksandr Shovkovskyi.

First official games (Prokopenko)

Soon after being accepted to FIFA and UEFA as a full member in 1992, Ukraine selected its first manager by members of a coaching council which consisted of Anatoliy Puzach (manager of Dynamo Kyiv), Yevhen Kucherevskyi (FC Dnipro), Yevhen Lemeshko (Torpedo Zaporizhzhia), Yukhym Shkolnykov (Bukovyna Chernivtsi) and Viktor Prokopenko (Chornomorets Odesa). Later, they were joined by Valeriy Yaremchenko (Shakhtar Donetsk). The circle was narrowed to three specialists; Prokopenko eventually became the manager.^[11]

Ukraine played their first match on 29 April 1992 against Hungary in Uzhhorod at the Avanhard Stadium, losing 3–1 with the sole Ukrainian goal scored by Ivan Hetsko. With the creation of "fantom" (transitional) CIS team in place of the Soviet Union playing its own friendly against the England in Moscow in preparation to the UEFA Euro 1992,^[12] the Ukrainian team lost some notable players to that team. Following a couple of losses to Hungary and a draw to the United States, Prokopenko resigned and the last season game that year for the national team was led by his assistants Mykola Pavlov and Leonid Tkachenko.

Euro 1996 qualification (Bazylevych)

Ukraine appointed another head coach, Oleh Bazylevych, who made his debut with the national team in the spring of 1993 in Odesa during a friendly against Israel, a 1–1 draw. Less than a month later Ukraine finally won, in Vilnius in an away friendly against Lithuania. During the summer they lost 3–1 to Croatia; Ukraine was later seeded in Group 4 of the UEFA Euro 1996 qualification.

Ukraine was defeated by Israel in March 1994, and drew Bulgaria and the United Arab Emirates. On 7 September 1994, the national team started its first official qualification campaign with a surprising home loss 2–0 to Lithuania.^[13] Following the defeat and a weak performance in preceding friendlies Bazylevych was fired and on the tour to South Korea the team was led by the Bazylevych assistants Pavlov and Muntyan as a temporary replacement until Federation signs a contract with Valeriy Lobanovsky. on 24 September, the Football Federation of Ukraine appointed Yozhef Sabo as an acting manager until the end of the year after Lobanovsky signed a contract with Kuwait.

With the new manager, their next home game against Slovenia ended goalless^[14] and they then beat Estonia 3–0 gaining their first win in official competitive game.^[15] At the beginning of the year the Football Federation confirmed Anatoliy Konkov as the new head coach on 5 January 1995.

With Konkov the team started with away losses of 4–0 to Croatia and 3–0 to Italy.^[16] After that there was a three-game winning streak including a home victory against Croatia and theoretical hopes which were abruptly cut after a loss to Slovenia and the team finished in the fourth place in its first qualification campaign behind Lithuania.

1998–2004: near misses

Following the expiration of a year-long contract with Konkov, in 1996 the Federation appointed Sabo as a head coach and received a preliminary agreement that Lobanovsky will become available following his contract with Kuwait.

Ukraine participated in 1998 World Cup qualification, where the team was drawn into Group 9. Ukraine took second place, only behind Germany and ahead of Portugal but was defeated in a play-off stage 3–1 on aggregate by Croatia. The qualification campaign became notable as the beginning of the international career for Shevchenko as well as more play time for some other players such as Oleksandr Shovkovsky and Serhiy Rebrov.

In UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying, Ukraine, assigned in Group 4, finished above Russia, thanks to an important draw in Moscow and a home victory, but still only qualified for the playoff behind the French side despite being undefeated. Ukraine then fell to Slovenia 3–2 on aggregate. Following the qualification campaign, the Federation finally signed a contract with Valery Lobanovsky, ending Sabo's tenure as a head coach.

The 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification saw Ukraine in Group 5. With Lobanovsky as a head coach, there were expectations of the first qualification to the finals. Yet, Ukraine suffered a home loss to Poland in their opening match, and many draws had resulted in Ukraine qualifying for the playoff again, losing to Germany, 5–2 on aggregate. Under public pressure, particularly the Higher League head coaches who argued that the national team head coach cannot competently serve for both club and national, as well as the health issues of Lobanovsky himself, the Federation decided not to renew a contract with Lobanovsky letting him concentrate on Dynamo Kyiv.

In UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying, Ukraine with the new head coach and another former Dynamo Kyiv star Leonid Buryak was assigned into Group 6, with Spain and Greece. Ukraine failed to qualify.^{[citation needed]}

2006 World Cup

After Euro 2004 qualifying, Ukraine appointed Oleg Blokhin as the national team's head coach. Placed in Group 2, Ukraine went on to qualify as a group winner for their first-ever FIFA World Cup on 3 September 2005 after drawing 1–1 against Georgia in Tbilisi and ahead of Turkey, Denmark and the last campaign rivals Greece among others. This also was the first successful qualification campaign for Ukraine despite a poor home turf performance.

In the 2006 World Cup, they were in Group H with Spain, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. After losing 4–0 in the first match against Spain, the Ukrainians won the next two matches to face Switzerland in the round of 16. Drawing goalless, Ukraine took Switzerland to a penalty shoot-out where two saves from Oleksandr Shovkovsky secured a positive outcome for his side despite the first kick miss by Andriy Shevchenko. Switzerland which did not lose or yield a single goal was sent home early with Ukraine advancing to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, Ukraine, facing Italy, was defeated with two second half two goals from Luca Toni, securing a comfortable 3–0 win for the future 2006 World Cup champions.

2006–2012

After the World Cup, Ukraine was placed in UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group B, along with Italy and France; Ukraine had also performed poorly against Scotland, Georgia and Lithuania, ultimately finishing in fourth place. Due to the bleak performance of the national team Oleg Blokhin resigned and surprisingly signed with the recently established FC Moscow.^[17]^[18]

With another Soviet football star player Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko as the new head coach, 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification saw Ukraine in Group 6, drawing Croatia and winning against England, sending Ukraine to the playoff. Greece, which had been eliminated by Ukraine in the qualifiers four years earlier, would eventually get revenge.^{[citation needed]} Following the failure to qualify, the Federation decided not to renew the contract with Mykhaylychenko.^[19]

As co-hosts, Ukraine qualified automatically for Euro 2012,^[3] marking their debut in the UEFA European Championship. The Federation decided to appoint Myron Markevych to prepare and lead the national team in the Euro finals. However, following a few friendlies Markevych resigned due to the off-pitch politics and having held coaching office of both the national team and Metalist Kharkiv.^[20]^[21] For the next several games in 2010 and 2011 the national team was led by caretaker Yuriy Kalitvintsev who starred for Ukraine back in its first qualification campaign for the Euro 1996.

On 21 April 2011, Blokhin was again appointed head coach of the Ukraine national team signing a four-year contract.^[22]^[23] With Blokhin at helm in their opening game against Sweden, Ukraine won 2–1 in Kyiv. In Donetsk, Ukraine was eliminated after a 2–0 loss to France and a 1–0 defeat to England.

2014–present

Drawn into UEFA Group H for 2014 World Cup qualification, Ukraine qualified for yet another playoff after two wins over Poland and two draws over England, where they would play against France. Ukraine beat France at home 2–0 but suffered a 3–0 loss away. Blokhin stepped down due to health concerns in the autumn of 2012 soon after the first home game against England and was replaced by Andriy Bal^[24] and later Oleksandr Zavarov. While considering hiring a first foreign specialist, the Federation finally appointed Mykhailo Fomenko as a head coach by the end of 2012.^[25] Even though Fomenko did not manage to qualify for the World Cup, the Federation decided to retain his services until the end of 2015.^[26]

With the ongoing Russian aggression, Ukraine in Euro 2016 qualifying was drawn against Spain, Slovakia, Belarus, Macedonia and Luxembourg. Despite having won all matches apart from those against Spain and Slovakia, they finished third due to the results against the top two teams in the group. They defeated Slovenia in the playoff, marking the first time they qualified for a major tournament through the playoffs.

Ukraine lost all three games at Euro 2016 without scoring a goal; a 2–0 loss to Germany, a 2–0 loss to Northern Ireland, and Poland 1–0.

Following the Euro 2016, Fomenko was replaced with Andriy Shevchenko as a head coach who served as his assistant during the Euro finals.^[27] Seeded in the UEFA Group I, Ukraine started with a home draw to Iceland in 2018 World Cup qualifying and an away draw to Turkey. This was followed by two home wins, 3–0 against Kosovo and 1–0 against Finland. After a 1–0 away loss to Croatia, they beat Finland 2–1 away and Turkey 2–0 at home, they lost 2–0 away to Iceland and won a 2–0 away win against Kosovo. Losing to Croatia at home, they failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying and in all its previous World Cup qualifications.

In the inaugural UEFA Nations League, Ukraine was drawn with the Czech Republic and Slovakia in League B. They beat the Czech Republic 2–1 away and Slovakia 1–0 at home, before earning a promotion to League A with a 1–0 home win to the Czech Republic.

Ukraine was placed in a group with Euro 2016 champions Portugal as well as Serbia. In its opening game of the qualifying campaign Ukraine visited Portugal which was led by returning star Cristiano Ronaldo. The match ended 0–0. The second game, against Luxembourg, ended up as a 2–1 win, preceding Ukraine's 5–0 win against Serbia, along with a narrow 1–0 win against Luxembourg. Two matches—away and home against Lithuania (winning 3–0 and 2–0 respectively) saw Ukraine with 16 points and in need of only a point against Portugal. Ukraine won 2–1 and the group before drawing Serbia 2–2.

Ukraine was drawn with Switzerland, Spain, and Germany in the next Nations League. The Ukrainians started their campaign by overcoming Switzerland at home 2–1 to temporarily take first place. However, their next opponent Spain won 4–0. Germany then won 2–1 in Kyiv. Ukraine then defeated Spain for the first time with a 1–0 win. Germany swept Ukraine after a 1–0 deficit was canceled for a 3–1 victory.

As the COVID-19 crisis in Ukraine worsened, eight players from the starting squad tested positive (including one positive SARS-CoV-2 test upon arrival to Lucerne), and as a result, the entire delegation was put into quarantine by the Department of Health of the Canton of Lucerne.^[28]^[29] Their game against Switzerland away was subsequently cancelled. Ukraine faced relegation if the game was to be awarded 3–0 to Switzerland, or if the result is decided by a drawing of lots and Switzerland was to be handed a 1–0 victory. Eventually, UEFA decided that the match result would be 3–0 in favour of Switzerland and the CAS subsequently upheld the result, meaning that Ukraine had been officially relegated after just one year in League A.^[30]^[31]

Ukraine qualified for the knockout stages in the European Championship for the first time in the 2020 tournament, postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19, as one of the best third-placed teams. They beat Sweden 2–1 in the round of 16, after Artem Dovbyk scored the winning goal in the first minute of the second half in extra time. They were then defeated by England in the quarter-final, recording their best finish at a major tournament since 2006.

Ukraine drew 1–1 in both games against France in 2022 World Cup qualifying.^[32] Ukraine would then qualify for the playoff after breaking the record set by Australia for the most consecutive draws in World Cup qualification, with five straight draws.^{[citation needed]} After five years and under the spell of draws in the recent campaign, Shevchenko announced his resignation in August 2021^[33] and was replaced with Oleksandr Petrakov who had recently led the Ukraine U-20 team to the World Cup victory.^[34] Ukraine eventually picked up a much-needed victory over Finland, ending their run of draws and giving them a two-point lead over Bosnia and a three-point lead over Finland. However, both Bosnia and Finland had a game in hand over Ukraine, who qualified for the playoffs after a 2–0 win over Bosnia and a Finnish loss to France. Ukraine faced Scotland in the Group A playoff semifinals, postponed in March 2022 to June after Russia invaded the country in February,^[35] winning 3–1 at Hampden Park, but ultimately losing 1–0 to Wales in an emotional playoff final at the Cardiff City Stadium.^[36]

Ukraine, who were relegated to League B in the 2nd Nations League due to their last-place finish (2 wins to 4 losses), failed to gain promotion to League A in the following Nations League, finishing 2nd in their group in the 3rd Nations League, beaten by Scotland against whom they lost in Glasgow in contrast to the play-off semi-final (0–3) and unable to beat the Tartan Army on neutral ground in the return leg (0–0).

In the qualifiers for the Euro 2024, Ukraine finished third in their highly competitive group, with four wins, two draws and two defeats. However, Italy finished ahead of the Zbirna only thanks to a favourable head-to-head record despite having the same number of points, while in the decisive Ukraine/Italy match (0–0) on neutral ground in Leverkusen, Germany, a refereeing error was made to the Ukrainians' disadvantage with a penalty not whistled for an Italian foul at the end of match.^[37]

Eligible for the play-offs as the best non-group winner, Ukraine initially defeated Bosnia 2–1 away in the semi-finals of the Path B play-offs on March 21, 2024.^[38] Five days later, on March 26, 2024, Ukraine qualified for Euro 2024 in Germany, beating Iceland 2–1 in the play-off final at the Wrocław Stadium in Poland.^[39]^[40] In this decisive final, as in the semi-final against Bosnia, Ukraine conceded the opening goal on each occasion and managed to turn the match around, winning by a narrow margin at the very end. Having been drawn into Group E with Romania, Belgium and Slovakia, Ukraine finished level with all the other teams in the group on four points, but were knocked out on goal difference.

Stadiums

Most matches are held at Kyiv's Olimpiyskyi National Sports Complex.

During the Soviet era (before 1991), only three stadiums in Ukraine were used in official games, the Olimpiysky NSC in Kyiv (known then as Republican Stadium), the predecessor of Chornomorets, BSS Central Stadium in Odesa, and the Lokomotiv Stadium in Simferopol.

Since May 2022, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, home game matches have been taking place in Łódź.^[41]

Home venue record

Since Ukraine's first fixture (29 April 1992 vs. Hungary) they have played their home games at 11 different stadiums.

Venue	City	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	Points per game
Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex	Kyiv	62	29	21	12	88	52	1.74
Valeriy Lobanovskyi Dynamo Stadium	Kyiv	20	13	5	2	38	15	2.2
Arena Lviv	Lviv	14	11	3	0	33	6	2.57
Metalist Oblast Sports Complex	Kharkiv	13	7	2	4	21	9	1.77
Ukraina Stadium	Lviv	6	6	0	0	14	5	3
Chornomorets Stadium	Odesa	6	4	2	0	7	3	2.33
Donbass Arena	Donetsk	5	0	1	4	2	9	0.2
Dnipro-Arena	Dnipro	4	3	1	0	5	2	2.5
Shakhtar Stadium	Donetsk	2	0	1	1	0	2	0.5
Slavutych-Arena	Zaporizhzhia	1	1	0	0	1	0	3
Meteor Stadium	Dnipro	1	0	1	0	2	2	1
Avanhard Stadium	Uzhhorod	1	0	0	1	1	3	0
Totals		135	74	37	24	212	108	1.92

Last updated: 11 November 2021. Statistics include official FIFA-recognised matches only.

Kits and sponsors

Kit history and evolution

On 29 March 2010, Ukraine debuted a new Adidas kit.^[42] This replaced the Adidas kit with a yellow base and the traditional Adidas three stripe with a snake sash which was used in 2009.^[43] Before 5 February 2009 Ukraine wore a Lotto kit. In 2009 the official team kit was produced by German company Adidas which has a contract with the Ukrainian team until 31 December 2016. Joma manufactured the kits beginning in 2017.^[44]

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Win Draw Loss Fixture

2024

21 March UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1–2	Ukraine	Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
20:45	Matviyenko 56' (o.g.)	Report	Yaremchuk 85' Dovbyk 88'	Stadium: Bilino Polje Attendance: 10,992 Referee: Felix Zwayer (Germany)

26 March UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs	Ukraine	2–1	Iceland	Wrocław, Poland
20:45	Tsyhankov 54' Mudryk 84'	Report	A. Guðmundsson 30'	Stadium: Wrocław Stadium Attendance: 29,310 Referee: Clément Turpin (France)

3 June Friendly	Germany	0–0	Ukraine	Nuremberg, Germany
		Report		Stadium: Max-Morlock-Stadion Attendance: 42,500 Referee: Walter Altmann (Austria)

7 June Friendly	Poland	3–1	Ukraine	Warsaw, Poland
20:45	Walukiewicz 11' Zieliński 16' Romanczuk 30'	Report	Dovbyk 42'	Stadium: National Stadium Attendance: 47,013 Referee: Andrew Madley (England)

11 June Friendly	Moldova	0–4	Ukraine	Chișinău, Moldova
19:00		Report	Yaremchuk 2' Tsyhankov 43' Dovbyk 49' Sudakov 54'	Stadium: Zimbru Stadium Referee: Andrei Chivulete (Romania)

17 June UEFA Euro 2024	Romania	3–0	Ukraine	Munich, Germany
15:00	Stanciu 29' R. Marin 53' Drăguș 57'	Report		Stadium: Allianz Arena Attendance: 61,591 Referee: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden)

21 June UEFA Euro 2024	Slovakia	1–2	Ukraine	Düsseldorf, Germany
15:00	Schranz 17'	Report	Shaparenko 54' Yaremchuk 80'	Stadium: Merkur Spiel-Arena Attendance: 43,910 Referee: Michael Oliver (England)

26 June UEFA Euro 2024	Ukraine	0–0	Belgium	Stuttgart, Germany
18:00		Report		Stadium: MHPArena Attendance: 54,000 Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)

7 September 2024–25 Nations League	Ukraine	1–2	Albania	Prague, Czechia^[b]
20:45	Konoplia 49'	Report	Ismajli 54' Asani 66'	Stadium: Stadion Letná Attendance: 15,500 Referee: Luis Godinho (Portugal)

10 September 2024–25 Nations League	Czech Republic	3–2	Ukraine	Prague, Czechia
20:45	Šulc 21', 45+2' Souček 80' (pen.)	Report	Vanat 37' Sudakov 84'	Stadium: Fortuna Arena Attendance: 18,722 Referee: John Beaton (Scotland)

11 October 2024–25 Nations League	Ukraine	1–0	Georgia	Poznań, Poland^[b]
20:45	Mudryk 35'	Report		Stadium: Poznań Stadium Attendance: 21,700 Referee: Julian Weinberger (Austria)

14 October 2024–25 Nations League	Ukraine	1–1	Czech Republic	Wrocław, Poland^[b]
20:45	Dovbyk 52' (pen.)	Report	Červ 18'	Stadium: Wrocław Stadium Attendance: 14,734 Referee: Guillermo Cuadra Fernández (Spain)

16 November 2024–25 Nations League	Georgia	1–1	Ukraine	Batumi, Georgia
18:00 (20:00 UTC+4)	Mikautadze 76'	Report	Kvirkvelia 7' (o.g.)	Stadium: Adjarabet Arena Attendance: 19,120 Referee: Chris Kavanagh (England)

19 November 2024–25 Nations League	Albania	1–2	Ukraine	Tirana, Albania
20:45	Bajrami 75' (pen.)	Report	Zinchenko 5' Yaremchuk 10'	Stadium: Arena Kombëtare Attendance: 20,547 Referee: João Pinheiro (Portugal)

2025

20 March 2024–25 UEFA Nations League play-offs	Ukraine	v	Belgium	TBD^[b]
20:45		Report		Stadium: TBD

23 March 2024–25 UEFA Nations League play-offs	Belgium	v	Ukraine	Brussels, Belgium
20:45		Report		Stadium: King Baudouin Stadium

Coaching staff

Currently approved:^[52]

Position	Name
Head coach	Serhiy Rebrov
Assistant coach
	Vicente Gómez
	Alberto Bosch
	Hlib Platov
Goalkeeping coach	Rustam Khudzhamov
Fitness coach	Javier Lurueña

Coaching history

As of 19 November 2024.^[53]^[54]

No.	Manager	Ukraine career	G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %	Qualifying cycle	Final tour
1	Viktor Prokopenko	1992	3	0	1	2	2	5	−3	000.00
C	Mykola Pavlov Leonid Tkachenko	1992	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00
2	Oleh Bazylevych	1993–1994	11	4	3	4	13	14	−1	036.36	1996
C	Mykola Pavlov Volodymyr Muntyan	1994	2	0	0	2	0	3	−3	000.00
C	Yozhef Sabo	1994	2	1	1	0	3	0	+3	050.00	1996
3	Anatoliy Konkov	1995	7	3	0	4	8	13	−5	042.86	1996
4	Yozhef Sabo	1996–1999	32	15	11	6	44	26	+18	046.88	1998, 2000
5	Valeriy Lobanovskyi	2000–2001	18	6	7	5	20	20	+0	033.33	2002
6	Leonid Buryak	2002–2003	19	5	6	8	18	23	−5	026.32	2004
7	Oleg Blokhin	2003–2007	46	21	14	11	65	40	+25	045.65	2006, 2008	2006
8	Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko	2008–2009	21	12	5	4	31	16	+15	057.14	2010
9	Myron Markevych^[55]	2010	4	3	1	0	9	3	+6	075.00
C	Yuriy Kalytvyntsev^[56]	2010–2011	8	1	5	2	10	13	−3	012.50
10	Oleg Blokhin^[22]	2011–2012	18	7	3	8	27	28	−1	038.89	2014	2012
C	Andriy Bal^[57]	2012	2	0	1	1	0	1	−1	000.00	2014
C	Oleksandr Zavarov	2012	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.00
11	Mykhaylo Fomenko^[58]	2012–2016	37	24	6	7	67	22	+45	064.86	2014, 2016	2016
12	Andriy Shevchenko	2016–2021	51	25	13	13	71	61	+10	049.02	2018, 2020, 2022	2020
13	Oleksandr Petrakov	2021^[c]–2023	15	6	7	2	23	13	+10	040.00	2022
C	Ruslan Rotan	2023	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	000.00	2024
14	Serhiy Rebrov	2023–	22	10	6	6	30	25	+5	045.45	2024	2024

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2024–25 Nations League matches Georgia and Albania on 16 and 19 November 2024, respectively.^[59]

Caps and goals updated as of 19 November 2024, after the match against Albania.^[60]^[61]^[62]^[63]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Heorhiy Bushchan	(1994-05-31) 31 May 1994 (age 30)	18	0	Dynamo Kyiv
12	1GK	Anatoliy Trubin	(2001-08-01) 1 August 2001 (age 23)	19	0	Benfica
23	1GK	Dmytro Riznyk	(1999-01-30) 30 January 1999 (age 25)	2	0	Shakhtar Donetsk

2	2DF	Yukhym Konoplya	(1999-08-26) 26 August 1999 (age 25)	20	2	Shakhtar Donetsk
3	2DF	Oleksiy Sych	(2001-04-01) 1 April 2001 (age 23)	1	0	Rukh Lviv
4	2DF	Maksym Talovyerov	(2000-06-28) 28 June 2000 (age 24)	7	0	LASK
5	2DF	Valeriy Bondar	(1999-02-27) 27 February 1999 (age 25)	4	0	Shakhtar Donetsk
13	2DF	Illya Zabarnyi	(2002-09-01) 1 September 2002 (age 22)	45	1	Bournemouth
16	2DF	Vitaliy Mykolenko	(1999-05-29) 29 May 1999 (age 25)	46	1	Everton
22	2DF	Mykola Matviyenko (captain)	(1996-05-02) 2 May 1996 (age 28)	74	0	Shakhtar Donetsk

6	3MF	Volodymyr Brazhko	(2002-01-23) 23 January 2002 (age 22)	9	0	Dynamo Kyiv
7	3MF	Mykhailo Mudryk	(2001-01-05) 5 January 2001 (age 23)	28	3	Chelsea
8	3MF	Heorhiy Sudakov	(2002-09-01) 1 September 2002 (age 22)	26	3	Shakhtar Donetsk
10	3MF	Mykola Shaparenko	(1998-10-04) 4 October 1998 (age 26)	40	2	Dynamo Kyiv
14	3MF	Oleksandr Nazarenko	(2000-02-01) 1 February 2000 (age 24)	3	0	Polissya Zhytomyr
15	3MF	Dmytro Kryskiv	(2000-10-06) 6 October 2000 (age 24)	3	0	Shakhtar Donetsk
17	3MF	Oleksandr Zinchenko	(1996-12-15) 15 December 1996 (age 27)	69	10	Arsenal
18	3MF	Yehor Yarmolyuk	(2004-03-01) 1 March 2004 (age 20)	0	0	Brentford
19	3MF	Oleksiy Hutsulyak	(1997-12-25) 25 December 1997 (age 26)	5	0	Polissya Zhytomyr
20	3MF	Oleksandr Zubkov	(1996-08-03) 3 August 1996 (age 28)	37	2	Shakhtar Donetsk
21	3MF	Ivan Kalyuzhnyi	(1998-01-21) 21 January 1998 (age 26)	4	0	Oleksandriya

9	4FW	Roman Yaremchuk	(1995-11-27) 27 November 1995 (age 28)	59	17	Olympiacos
11	4FW	Artem Dovbyk	(1997-06-21) 21 June 1997 (age 27)	35	11	Roma

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team within the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Andriy Lunin	(1999-02-11) 11 February 1999 (age 25)	13	0	Real Madrid	v. Georgia, 16 November 2024 ^WD

DF	Oleksandr Tymchyk	(1997-01-20) 20 January 1997 (age 27)	22	1	Dynamo Kyiv	v. Georgia, 16 November 2024 ^WD
DF	Bohdan Mykhaylichenko	(1997-03-21) 21 March 1997 (age 27)	8	0	Polissya Zhytomyr	v. Georgia, 16 November 2024 ^RES
DF	Oleksandr Svatok	(1994-09-27) 27 September 1994 (age 30)	8	0	Austin	v. Georgia, 16 November 2024 ^RES
DF	Oleksandr Martynyuk	(2001-11-25) 25 November 2001 (age 22)	0	0	Oleksandriya	v. Georgia, 11 October 2024 ^RES
DF	Denys Popov	(1999-02-17) 17 February 1999 (age 25)	3	0	Dynamo Kyiv	v. Albania, 7 September 2024 ^INJ
DF	Oleksandr Karavayev	(1992-06-02) 2 June 1992 (age 32)	49	3	Dynamo Kyiv	v. Bosnia and Herzegovina, 21 March 2024 ^PRE

MF	Viktor Tsyhankov	(1997-11-15) 15 November 1997 (age 27)	57	13	Girona	v. Georgia, 16 November 2024 ^INJ
MF	Vitaliy Buyalskyi	(1993-01-06) 6 January 1993 (age 31)	13	0	Dynamo Kyiv	v. Georgia, 16 November 2024 ^INJ
MF	Taras Stepanenko	(1989-08-08) 8 August 1989 (age 35)	87	4	Shakhtar Donetsk	v. Georgia, 16 November 2024 ^RES
MF	Vladyslav Kabayev	(1995-09-01) 1 September 1995 (age 29)	1	0	Dynamo Kyiv	v. Georgia, 16 November 2024 ^RES
MF	Andriy Yarmolenko	(1989-10-23) 23 October 1989 (age 35)	124	46	Dynamo Kyiv	v. Georgia, 11 October 2024 ^INJ
MF	Oleksandr Pikhalyonok	(1997-05-07) 7 May 1997 (age 27)	10	0	Dynamo Kyiv	v. Georgia, 11 October 2024 ^INJ
MF	Artem Bondarenko	(2000-08-21) 21 August 2000 (age 24)	0	0	Shakhtar Donetsk	v. Georgia, 11 October 2024 ^RES
MF	Ruslan Malinovskyi	(1993-05-04) 4 May 1993 (age 31)	66	7	Genoa	v. Czech Republic, 10 September 2024
MF	Serhiy Sydorchuk	(1991-05-02) 2 May 1991 (age 33)	62	3	Westerlo	v. Albania, 7 September 2024
MF	Yehor Nazaryna	(1997-07-10) 10 July 1997 (age 27)	2	0	Shakhtar Donetsk	v. Bosnia and Herzegovina, 21 March 2024 ^RES

FW	Vladyslav Vanat	(2002-01-04) 4 January 2002 (age 22)	9	1	Dynamo Kyiv	v. Georgia, 16 November 2024 ^PRE
FW	Danylo Sikan	(2001-04-16) 16 April 2001 (age 23)	7	1	Shakhtar Donetsk	v. Georgia, 16 November 2024 ^RES
Notes ^U21 = Called up from national U21 squad. ^WD = Withdrew from squad for reason other than injury. ^INJ = Not part of the current squad due to injury. ^RES = Reserve squad (replaces a member of the squad in case of injury/unavailability). ^RET = Retired from the national team. ^PRE = Preliminary squad/standby.

Previous squads

Player records

As of 19 November 2024.^[60]^[64]^[62]^[63]

Players in bold are still active with Ukraine.

Most appearances

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Period
1	Anatoliy Tymoshchuk^[a]	144	4	2000–2016
2	Andriy Yarmolenko	124	46	2009–present
3	Andriy Shevchenko	111	48	1995–2012
4	Andriy Pyatov	102	0	2007–2022
5	Ruslan Rotan	100	8	2003–2018
6	Oleh Husiev	98	13	2003–2016
7	Oleksandr Shovkovskyi	92	0	1994–2012
8	Yevhen Konoplyanka	87	21	2010–2023
8	Taras Stepanenko	87	4	2010–present
10	Serhiy Rebrov	75	15	1992–2006

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Average	Period
1	Andriy Shevchenko	48	111	0.43	1995–2012
2	Andriy Yarmolenko	46	124	0.37	2009–present
3	Yevhen Konoplyanka	21	87	0.24	2010–2023
4	Roman Yaremchuk	17	59	0.29	2018–present
5	Serhiy Rebrov	15	75	0.2	1992–2006
6	Viktor Tsyhankov	13	57	0.23	2016–present
6	Oleh Husiev	13	98	0.13	2003–2016
8	Serhiy Nazarenko	12	56	0.21	2003–2012
9	Artem Dovbyk	11	35	0.31	2021–present
9	Yevhen Seleznyov	11	58	0.19	2008–2018

Most capped goalkeepers

As of 19 November 2024^[update].

Rank	Player	Games	Wins	GA	Av GA	Period
1	Andriy Pyatov	102	51	83	0.814	2007–2022
2	Oleksandr Shovkovskyi	92	38	80	0.87	1994–2012
3	Anatoliy Trubin	19	6	22	1.158	2021–present
4	Heorhiy Bushchan	18	5	30	1.667	2020–present
5	Andriy Lunin	13	7	11	0.846	2018–present
6	Oleh Suslov	12	7	15	1.25	1994–1997
7	Vitaliy Reva	9	3	10	1.111	2001–2003
8	Andriy Dykan	8	5	11	1.375	2010–2012
8	Maksym Levytskyi	8	1	10	1.25	2000–2002
10	Denys Boyko	7	3	7	1	2014–2021
10	Dmytro Tyapushkin	7	1	11	1.571	1994–1995

Captains

As of 19 November 2024^[update].^[66]

Rank	Player	Captain Caps	Total Caps	Period
1	Andriy Shevchenko	58	111	1995–2012
2	Anatoliy Tymoshchuk^[a]	41	144	2000–2016
3	Oleh Luzhnyi	39	52	1992–2003
4	Andriy Yarmolenko	29	124	2009–present
5	Ruslan Rotan	24	100	2003–2018
5	Andriy Pyatov	24	102	2007–2022
7	Yuriy Kalitvintsev	13	22	1995–1999
7	Oleksandr Holovko	13	58	1995–2004
9	Oleksandr Shovkovskyi	12	92	1994–2012
10	Oleksandr Kucher	8	57	2006–2017
10	Taras Stepanenko	8	87	2010–present

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

Champions Runners-up Third place

FIFA World Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Squad	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	→	Outcome
1930 to 1990 as Part of Soviet Union										1930 to 1990 as Part of Soviet Union
as Ukraine										as Ukraine
1994	FIFA member from 1992. Not admitted to the tournament.^[d]									FIFA member from 1992. Not admitted to the tournament.^[d]						1994	Qualifying spot not granted by FIFA
1998	Did not qualify
1998										12	6	3	3	11	9	1998	2nd in qualifying group 9, lost to Croatia in play-off
2002										12	4	6	2	15	13	2002	2nd in qualifying group 5, lost to Germany in play-off
2006	Quarter-finals	8th	5	2	1	2	5	7	Squad	12	7	4	1	18	7	2006	1st in qualifying group 2
2010	Did not qualify									12	6	4	2	21	7	2010	2nd in qualifying group 6, lost to Greece in play-off
2014										12	7	3	2	30	7	2014	2nd in qualifying group H, lost to France in play-off
2018										10	5	2	3	13	9	2018	3rd in qualifying group I
2022										10	3	6	1	14	10	2022	2nd in qualifying group D, lost to Wales in play-off
2026	To be determined									To be determined						2026
2030																2030
2034																2034
Total	Quarter-finals	1/7	5	2	1	2	5	7	–	80	38	28	14	122	62

* Denotes draws include knock-out matches decided on penalty kicks.

UEFA European Championship