Ukraine national football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Ukraine women's national football team.

Men's national association football team representing the Ukraine

Ukraine

Nickname(s)	Головна команда (The Main Team) Жовто-Сині (The Yellow and Blue)
Association	Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) Українська Асоціація Футболу
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Andriy Shevchenko[1]
Captain	Andriy Pyatov
Most caps	Anatoliy Tymoshchuk (144)
Top scorer	Andriy Shevchenko (48)
Home stadium	Various
FIFA code	UKR
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	24 (7 April 2021)[2]
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	3 (first in 2012)
Best result	Group stage (2012, 2016, 2020)

The Ukraine national football team (Ukrainian: збірна України з футболу) represents Ukraine in men's international football competitions and it 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 Ukrainian Independence and the country's breakaway from the Soviet Union, they played their first match against Hungary on 29 April 1992. The team's biggest success on the world stage was reaching the quarter-finals in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, which also marked the team's debut in the finals of a major championship.^[4]

As the host nation, Ukraine automatically qualified for UEFA Euro 2012.^[4] Four years later, Ukraine qualified for Euro 2016 via the play-off route, the first time qualifying for a UEFA European Championship via the qualifying process, as they finished in third place in their qualifying group. This marked the first time in Ukraine's five play-off appearances that it managed to win such a tie, previously having been unsuccessful in the play-off ties for the Euro 2000, 2002 World Cup, 2010 World Cup and 2014 World Cup.

Ukraine is seen as a specific case of being a successful youth football power in Europe and the world, yet fails to deliver the same taste at senior stage. The U-20 team of Ukraine has been the current reigning world champions at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, while the U-21 team had won silver medal in the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Championship; however in spite of this rich record in youth stage, the senior side didn't have the same level of achievement to look back at. While the Ukrainian senior side managed to reach the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup, the team failed to enter the knockout stages in Euro 2012 and Euro 2016, and have never returned to the World Cup since.

History

Ukrainian SSR (1925–1990)

Officially the national team of Ukraine, the national team was formed in the early 1990s and shortly after was recognized internationally. It is not widely known, however, that Ukraine previously had a national team in 1925–1935.^[5][6] Just like the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic had its own national team.

The earliest record of games it played 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. Just before the tournament started, the Ukraine national team played two exhibition games against the Red Sports Federation team from Uruguay, one in Kharkiv (lost 1–2) and the other in Moscow (won 3–2). At the All-Soviet tournament, Ukraine played three games and reached the final where it lost to Moscow 0–1. Along the way, Ukraine managed to defeat the national teams of Belarus and Transcaucasus.

In 1929, Ukraine beat the team of Lower Austria in an exhibition match in Kharkiv, recording a score of 4–1.

In 1931, Ukraine participated in another All-Soviet championship in Moscow. It played only one game, starting from the semifinals. Ukraine lost to the national team of Transcaucasus 0–3 and was eliminated.

In 1986, Ukraine became a winner of association football tournament of the Spartakiad of Peoples of the USSR that was hosted in Ukraine when in final it beat the team of Uzbekistan (Uzbek SSR).

Official formation

Prior to Independence in 1991, Ukrainian players represented the Soviet Union national team. After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Russia took the place of the Soviet Union national team in the qualifying tournament for the 1994 World Cup. The national team of Ukraine did not manage to enter the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification (the draw for the qualification stage was held on 8 December 1991,^[7] before Ukraine was 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, as it was named the official successor of the Soviet Union.^[8] At that time Vyacheslav Koloskov was the only top official from the former Soviet Union and later the Russia who served as a vice-president of UEFA in 1980–1996 and represented all of members of the Soviet Union and later the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Valeriy Lobanovskyi, was Head Coach of the National Team in 1979 and between 2001 and 2002

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 starting 11 players were Ukrainians^[9]), were transferred to the direct descendant of the Soviet national team – the Russia national team. As a result, a crisis was created for both the national team and the domestic league. When Ukraine returned to international football in late 1994, it did so as absolute beginners.

Another reason for the occurred harsh crisis in the Ukrainian football was lack of adequate funding of teams.^[8] This is understandable in terms of the general economic crisis that has affected all of the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries.^[8] Yet even in contrast with Russia, the Ukrainian teams looked very poor.^[8] However, there also was a reverse influx of some top class players.^[8] Viktor Leonenko agreed on transfer from Dynamo Moscow to Dynamo Kyiv.^[8] The Russian club did not want to release him, but Leonenko did not want to continue to play in Moscow.^[8] During his first six months in Kyiv Viktor was forced to miss due to the FIFA disqualification.^[8]

In the following years, the Ukrainian team improved, showcasing talents like Andriy Shevchenko, Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, Serhiy Rebrov and Oleksandr Shovkovskyi. Ukraine, however, failed to qualify for any major tournaments prior to 2006.

First official games (Prokopenko)

Soon after being accepted to FIFA and UEFA as a full member in 1992, Ukraine started its preparation for its first game. At first the head coach of the team was planned to be Valeriy Lobanovskyi, but at that time he had a current contract with the United Arab Emirates. Thus, the first manager of the team had to be chosen among 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 a native of Donetsk Valeriy Yaremchenko (Shakhtar Donetsk). At the last stage, the circle was narrowed to three specialists. Puzach, Yaremchenko and Prokopenko took the team to Uzhhorod. The last of them, by agreement between the coaches themselves, became the main one.^[10]

Viktor Prokopenko, the first manager of the national team

For the first game of the team it was agreed to play against Hungary on 22 April 1992 in Kyiv at the Republican Stadium. Due to financial issues, however, it was rearranged to 29 April and moved to the border with Hungary in Uzhhorod at the Avanhard Stadium. There was almost no preparation to the game as all "pioneers" gathered in Kyiv on 27 April and the next day flew out to Uzhhorod. At the same time, the opponent, while failing to qualify for the Euro 1992, was preparing for 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification. Ukraine at that time failed to be accepted for the qualification cycle.

Unlike the Hungarian squad, players of which played alongside before and were coached by the European Cup-winning coach Emerich Jenei, the Ukrainian team lost some its better and experienced players to the CIS national football team that was playing its own friendly against the England national football team in Moscow.^[11] Among those were Andrei Kanchelskis, Volodymyr Lyutyi, Sergei Yuran, Viktor Onopko, Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko and Akhrik Tsveiba (the last two would later represent Ukraine). For the game against Hungary, only Ivan Hetsko and Oleh Luzhny had previous experience of playing at international level; other players had only played for the Soviet Olympic football team, while Serhiy Kovalets played for Ukraine at the Spartakiad of People of the USSR in 1986.

The first home game was lost 1–3 with Ivan Hetsko becoming the first goalscorer in the history of national team. During the summer of 1992 Prokopenko's team played two more away games on 27 June against the United States (0-0) and on 26 August against Hungary (1-2). After the second loss to Hungary Prokopenko resigned. Leading in its game against Hungary, Ukraine conceded two goals in the final 10 minutes.

To the scheduled against Belarus in Minsk in the fall, Ukraine had left with Prokopenko's assistants Mykola Pavlov and Leonid Tkachenko. At the Dinamo Stadium, Ukraine managed to salvage a game by tying one a piece with a goal from Yuriy Maksymov.

Euro 96 qualification (Bazylevych)

Main article: UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying Group 4

Ukraine, having already suffered from a lack of good players, lost two promising young players during the winter intermission : Stepan Betsa and Oleksiy Sasko, who perished in a car accident. Unable to secure a contract with Valeriy Lobanovskyi, Ukraine appointed another head coach, former forward of Dynamo Kyiv Oleh Bazylevych. He made his debut with the national team in the spring of 1993 in Odessa during a friendly against Israel. Their expected win was cancelled out in a 1–1 draw just 10 minutes before the end by Serhiy Konovalov. Less than a month later Ukraine finally celebrated its first victory in Vilnius in an away friendly against Lithuania that resulted in a 1–2 win (goals scored by Viktor Leonenko and Dmytro Mykhaylenko). During the summer they played one away game against Croatia, losing 3–1, with a goal scored Andriy Husin and one of the Croatian goals scored by Davor Šuker. In October 1993, Ukraine went on their first tour to the United States where they played three games against the US and Mexico. Their game against Mexico in San Diego, resulting in a 1–2 loss, was attended by over 50,000 spectators. During the winter break Ukraine was seeded in Group 4 of the UEFA Euro 1996 qualification.

In March 1994, Ukraine paid Israel a visit, but lost the game with a single penalty kick. Next there was a home game against Belarus where Ukraine finally won 3-1 after coming from behind at half-time. Just before their first official international competition game which was scheduled to be played against Lithuania at home, they played couple of away games against Bulgaria and the United Arab Emirates which both ended in a 1–1 draw. Another tour was scheduled right afterwards to Lithuania and Korea, the national coached by Kyivan Anatoliy Byshovets. The opening game on 7 September against Lithuania, considering their last encounter, was expected to end positively, which however resulted in a 0–2 defeat.^[12] Both goals were scored within a couple of minutes in the middle of the second half by Hamburger SV striker Valdas Ivanauskas. The national team headed off to Korea without Bazylevych and his assistants whom were Mykola Pavlov and Vladimir Muntyan. Ukraine played two games and lost both. On 20 September 1994, Oleh Bazylevych was highly criticized at the federation's coaching meeting but was to be kept in position at the next meeting of the FFU Executive Committee a few days later.^[13] However, the following day Bazylevych resigned accusing Bannikov of being tactless. On 24 September 1994, the Football Federation of Ukraine appointed Yozhef Sabo as an acting head coach until the end of the year.

Yozhef Sabo served as one of temporary managers until appointed of Lobanovsky

Following the change of coach, the national team level took a while to improve. Their next home game against Slovenia ended goalless.^[14] After missing to obtain their first recent victory, Ukraine fell to bottom of the tournament table just above Estonian, whom they played their next home match against in mid-November, which they needed to win to keep any hopes of qualification alive. The Estonians, who were unable to field their best team, hoped to repeat the Slovenian effort a month earlier.^[15] The game resulted in a 3–0 win. Serhiy Konovalov scored their first goal at competition level for the national team. Sabo left his post after the game.^[16] and the FFU confirmed Anatoliy Konkov as the new head coach on 5 January 1995 .

Oleg Blokhin, head coach at the first World Cup participation in 2006

In order to save situation and prepare for upcoming games against Italy and Croatia, Konkov conducted training camp at a sports base in Stubenberg, Styria near the Castle (Schloss) Schielleiten from 16 to 23 March 1995. According to the new head coach the set program of training camp was accomplished successfully. Their away game to Croatia ended in a 0–4 loss in Zagreb, followed by a 0–2 defeat to three times World champions Italy at the Olympic Stadium (then Respublikanskiy).^[17]

1998–2004: near misses

Ukraine participated in the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification, where the team was drawn into Group 9. Ukraine had improved their performance well, and surprised the qualification by taking the second place instead of the more-favored Portugal, only behind Germany, thus sent Ukraine to the first ever playoff, against Croatia. Unfortunately, Ukraine was eliminated 3–1 after aggregate by Croatia, and missed the chance to qualify for the first ever competitive tournament.

In UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying, Ukraine, assigned in Group 4, once again managed to top ahead of another favorite, Russia, thanks to an important draw in Moscow, but still only qualified for playoff despite being undefeated, including two successful goalless draws to then-world champions France. Ukraine then fell to Slovenia 3–2 after aggregate as well, and lost the chance to qualify for the third time. Ukraine's defeat to Slovenia was more tragic, when Miran Pavlin canceled early Ukrainian lead at home and sealed Slovenia in instead.

The 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification saw Ukraine in Group 5, and most of Ukraine's opponents were much weaker than Germany and France. Yet, Ukraine suffered a denting home loss to Poland in their opening account, and a number of draws had hampered Ukrainian hope to process. Ukraine eventually reached the playoff again, but this time could not manage to overcome the old foe, Germany, losing 5–2 on aggregate, and once again missed a major tournament debut.

The UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying was perhaps the most humiliating moment of Ukrainian football since its foundation. Assigned into Group 6, Ukraine's only major opponent at the time was a much stronger Spain. Ukraine had been in comfortable competitive place with Spain, having drawn the Spaniards at home. However, a surprising resurgence from the less known Greece had dented any hope for Ukraine, as Ukraine failed to reach playoff for the first time since UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying due to Greek resurgence. Greece would go on to conquer the first European title.

2006 FIFA World Cup

After an unsuccessful Euro 2004 qualifying campaign, Ukraine appointed Oleg Blokhin as the national team's head coach. Despite initial skepticism about his appointment due to his previous somewhat undistinguished coaching record and general public calls for a foreign coach; as well as Ukraine's difficult group position, being drawn with Turkey, Denmark and Greece, the latter had already won the Euro 2004 and caused upset on Ukraine in Euro 2004 qualification, Ukraine went on to qualify for their first-ever FIFA World Cup on 3 September 2005 after drawing 1–1 against Georgia in Tbilisi. In their first World Cup, in 2006, they were in the Group H together with Spain, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. After losing 0–4 in the first match against Spain, the Ukrainians beat their other two opponents to reach the knock-out stage.

In the round of 16, Ukraine played against the winner of Group G, Switzerland, who they beat on penalties. In the quarter-finals, they were beaten 0–3 by eventual champions Italy.

2006–2010: disappointment return

National football team of Ukraine, before the match with Bulgaria, "Vasil Levski" stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria, 14-12-2012

After a successful 2006 World Cup debut, Ukrainian enthusiasm increased for UEFA Euro 2008. Ukraine was assigned to Group B, only this time there was no playoff competition and thus, Ukraine had to seek one of the top two places. However, Ukraine failed to deliver the promised performance, partly because the team was unlucky to be drawn with 2006 World Cup finalists Italy and France; however, Ukraine had also performed terribly against weaker opponents like Scotland, Georgia and Lithuania, two shock losses and a draw away to these opponents had effectively ruined Ukraine's hope to qualify for the tournament, finishing in fourth place.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification saw Ukraine regain some good improvement. Drawn in the Group 6, two good draws to a strong Croatian side and more importantly, a home win over England, sending Ukraine to a playoff for the first time since 2004 Euro qualification. However, Greece, which had been eliminated by Ukraine in the qualifiers four years earlier, would take revenge. Despite successfully drawing goalless in Athens, Ukraine suffered a bitter home defeat to the Greeks in Donetsk, a reply to Ukraine's elimination of Greece back in Athens. This meant Ukraine lost its first ever playoff match at home, and failed to qualify for 2010 FIFA World Cup.

UEFA Euro 2012

Main article: UEFA Euro 2012 Group D

Ukraine national football team in 2012

As co-hosts, Ukraine qualified automatically for Euro 2012,^[4] marking their debut in the UEFA European Championship. In their opening game against Sweden, Ukraine won 2–1 in Kyiv. Despite the team's efforts, however, Ukraine was eliminated after a 0–2 loss to France and a 0–1 loss to England, both in Donetsk.

2014 World Cup qualification – UEFA Group H

The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was acceptable for Ukrainian squad. Being drawn with fellow Euro 2012 host Poland, together with England and the newcomer Montenegro, Ukraine had to face tough competitors. Despite facing struggles from the Montenegrin side, Ukraine was able to qualify for the playoff, thanked for two wins over Poland and two draws over England, and faced up France. Ukraine beat France at home 2–0, but Ukraine suffered a bitter 0–3 away loss to France, and failed to reach 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Main article: 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group H

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	England	10	6	4	0	31	4	+27	22	Qualification to 2014 FIFA World Cup		—	1–1	4–1	2–0	4–0	5–0
2	Ukraine	10	6	3	1	28	4	+24	21	Advance to second round		0–0	—	0–1	1–0	2–1	9–0
3	Montenegro	10	4	3	3	18	17	+1	15			1–1	0–4	—	2–2	2–5	3–0
4	Poland	10	3	4	3	18	12	+6	13			1–1	1–3	1–1	—	2–0	5–0
5	Moldova	10	3	2	5	12	17	−5	11			0–5	0–0	0–1	1–1	—	3–0
6	San Marino	10	0	0	10	1	54	−53	0			0–8	0–8	0–6	1–5	0–2	—

Source:^{[citation needed]}

UEFA Euro 2016

Ukraine national football team in 2015

In the Euro 2016 qualifying round, Ukraine were drawn against Spain, Slovakia, Belarus, Macedonia and Luxembourg. The Zbirna was expected to qualify for the tournament as runners-up of the group behind Spain but, despite having won all their other matches, they finished third due to poor results against Spain and Slovakia. They therefore had to face Slovenia in the play-off route (the side to which they had succumbed at the same stage of the 2000 edition) ; they recorded a 2–0 win at Lviv before forging a 1–1 draw at the very end of the second game.

Ukraine convincingly won all of their preparation friendlies against Cyprus, Wales, Romania and Albania. At club level, FC Dnipro had recently reached the UEFA Europa League final in 2015, while Shakhtar Donetsk had progressed to the semi-finals one year later, as the Ukrainian clubs succeeded in sending one participant to the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League two times in a row. Having been drawn against world champions Germany, Slavic neighbors Poland and first-time Euro participants Northern Ireland, the Ukrainian team was expected to advance at least to the next round.

The tournament however, turned into a dreadful upset. Ukraine lost all of their three games, while also failing to score a single goal. Their first match resulted in a 2–0 loss to Germany, despite good resistance and great chances during an entertaining first half, they eventually came close to levelling the score but were caught on the counterattack at the very end of the game. This was followed by a second 2–0 loss to Northern Ireland, with a goal once again conceded in injury time. The Ukrainian media mainly criticized coach Mykhaylo Fomenko's perceived inadequate psychological preparation of the squad as much as predictable tactics which were judged as easy to break down. Ukrainians stars Andriy Yarmolenko and Yevhen Konoplyanka's under-performance was also mentioned. Ukraine at this stage were the first team eliminated from the competition and lost their last game to Poland 1–0.

Main article: UEFA Euro 2016 Group C

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Germany	3	2	1	0	3	0	+3	7[a]	Advance to knockout phase
2	Poland	3	2	1	0	2	0	+2	7[a]
3	Northern Ireland	3	1	0	2	2	2	0	3
4	Ukraine	3	0	0	3	0	5	−5	0

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:

1. Tied on head-to-head result (Germany 0–0 Poland). Overall goal difference was used as the tiebreaker.

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group I

Ukraine started off with a home draw to eventual group leaders Iceland and an away draw to Turkey. This was followed by two home wins, 3–0 against Kosovo and 1–0 against Finland. Despite a 1–0 away loss to Croatia, they beat Finland 1–2 away and Turkey 2–0 at home. This was followed by a 2–0 away loss to Iceland and a 0–2 away win against Kosovo. Going to the last game, Ukraine stood a strong chance of qualifying for the tournament, but after a 0–2 home loss to Croatia, they failed to qualify for the play-offs for their first time since UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying. In their last game against Croatia, former Dynamo Kyiv footballer Domagoj Vida became famous for his “Slava Ukraini” video which showed solidarity with Ukraine for the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014.

Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group I

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Iceland	10	7	1	2	16	7	+9	22	Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup		—	1–0	2–0	2–0	3–2	2–0
2	Croatia	10	6	2	2	15	4	+11	20	Advance to second round		2–0	—	1–0	1–1	1–1	1–0
3	Ukraine	10	5	2	3	13	9	+4	17			1–1	0–2	—	2–0	1–0	3–0
4	Turkey	10	4	3	3	14	13	+1	15			0–3	1–0	2–2	—	2–0	2–0
5	Finland	10	2	3	5	9	13	−4	9			1–0	0–1	1–2	2–2	—	1–1
6	Kosovo	10	0	1	9	3	24	−21	1			1–2	0–6	0–2	1–4	0–1	—

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

2018–19 UEFA Nations League

Ukraine was drawn with the Czech Republic and Slovakia in League B. They beat the Czech Republic 1–2 away and Slovakia 1–0 at home, before earning a promotion with a 1–0 home win to the Czech Republic, before ending with a heavy 4–1 away loss to Slovakia.

Main article: 2018–19 UEFA Nations League B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion[a]
1	Ukraine (P)	4	3	0	1	5	5	0	9	Promotion to League A		—	1–0	1–0
2	Czech Republic	4	2	0	2	4	4	0	6			1–2	—	1–0
3	Slovakia	4	1	0	3	5	5	0	3			4–1	1–2	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(P) Promoted.
Notes:

1. Due to revamp of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, no teams were eventually relegated.

UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying – UEFA Group B

Main article: UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Group B

Ukraine were placed in a tough group with Euro 2016 title holders Portugal, and Serbia—a side with personnel playing for multiple prominent club teams. According to many sports analysts, Ukraine were tipped to finish third in the group. The first match proved to be the most difficult match—an away game against Portugal. With the well-known centre-back Yaroslav Rakytskiy absent due to his controversial move to Russian club Zenit St. Petersburg and the return of Cristiano Ronaldo to the Portuguese lineup after an absent Nations League, the Portuguese were favoured to win by a comfortable margin. However, contrary to popular prediction, Andriy Shevchenko's side proved to be very stubborn. Although the Portuguese controlled the majority of the game's possession, they could not find the back of the net. A heroic showing from goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov as well as persistent marking of Cristiano Ronaldo and the Portuguese attack by Ukraine's defense earned Ukraine a valuable point in Lisbon. The match ended with a 0-0 scoreline.

The second game (4 days after the positive result in Portugal) was away to supposed minnows of the group, Luxembourg. However, this match proved to be an absolute nightmare for the Ukrainians. After struggling to come up with inventive attacks, a very lacklustre Ukrainian side found themselves down 1-0 thanks to a goal from David Turpel, aided by very disorganized defending on the part of the Ukrainians. Right before the end of the first half, Ukraine did find an equalizer through Viktor Tsyhankov. Ukraine struggled to create any meaningful opportunities in a stressful second half. However, with literally the last kick of the ball in stoppage time (from a freekick), Ukraine found themselves extremely lucky and unlikely 2-1 winners when Gerson Rodrigues of Luxembourg headed the ball into his own goal. Therefore, after the first two matchdays, Ukraine found themselves top of the group with 4 points after Portugal and Serbia played a 1-1 match in Lisbon on the same day.

Matchday 3 came with a stiff test—a home match against a well-rounded and versatile Serbian squad boasting many experienced and skillful players from multiple world-renowned clubs. While it was expected to be a reasonably close match, it could not have been more of a rout. What appeared to be a well balanced and close affair within the opening exchanges of the first half quickly changed when Viktor Tsyhankov scored the opening goal in the 26th minute of play. The second goal (also by Tsyhankov) was scored from a thunderous strike from long range less than two minutes later. Ukraine went on to win the match 5–0 with Roman Yaremchuk achieving his first ever international goal and Konoplyanka helping himself to two goals. At this point, with positive results against the two supposedly strongest opponents in the groups, Ukraine looked as though they could secure a top two finish and avoid the play-offs.

After another stiff contest with Luxembourg, Ukraine managed to secure a 1–0 victory only three days after their triumph over Serbia. The goal came in the 6th minute from Roman Yaremchuk. 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 Fernando Santos's Portuguese side, who at this point were crowned UEFA Nations League Champions.

The match against Portugal was expected to be an interesting test for Shevchenko's men, who had not lost a single match in qualifying and had only conceded once. Ukraine started brightly with noticeably more attacking intent than in the previous meeting between these two teams. Indeed, their pressure paid off when Roman Yaremchuk scored from close range after an initial save from Rui Patricio on 6 minutes. In the 27th minute, Ukraine doubled their advantage with a Yarmolenko goal. After building this comfortable lead, Ukraine began to sit back and defend as they did in Lisbon on matchday one. Portugal was once again unable to crack Ukraine's defense. However, in the 72nd minute, Cristiano Ronaldo was awarded a penalty kick from a supposed hand-ball by Taras Stepanenko as he blocked the ball from a Portuguese shot. While VAR was not an option, replays showed that this was an incorrect call from the referee, as the ball was blocked by Stepanenko's leg, before making contact with his arm as it deflected into the air. This incident also resulted in a red card for Stepanenko. Thus, Ukraine had to play the rest of the match with ten men. Ronaldo scored from the spot, giving Portugal a glimmer of hope to rescue the game and earn a valid point in Kyiv. However, it wasn't to be Portugal's night. Ukraine won 2-1 and subsequently won the group.

The last match was played in Belgrade against Serbia. Because Ukraine had already qualified and won the group, Shevchenko decided to field a team with a few less experienced players. Serbia on the other hand, had to win for any hopes of automatic qualification. Serbia took the lead early through a Dušan Tadić penalty kick. After controlling the majority of the match after falling behind, Ukraine found an equaliser through the inevitable Yaremchuk. Serbia took control of the second half and restored their lead thanks to a beautiful Alexander Mitrović finish. Serbia continued to search for another goal with multiple chances. However, in the last minute of stoppage time, Yarmolenko sent a low cross across the Serbian goal which was received by Artem Biesiedin and finished into the bottom corner. The match ended 2-2 and Ukraine accomplished a successful qualification campaign without a single loss. With Portugal beating Luxembourg 2–0, Serbia's hopes of direct qualification were shot.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Ukraine	8	6	2	0	17	4	+13	20	Qualify for final tournament		—	2–1	5–0	1–0	2–0
2	Portugal	8	5	2	1	22	6	+16	17			0–0	—	1–1	3–0	6–0
3	Serbia	8	4	2	2	17	17	0	14	Advance to play-offs via Nations League		2–2	2–4	—	3–2	4–1
4	Luxembourg	8	1	1	6	7	16	−9	4			1–2	0–2	1–3	—	2–1
5	Lithuania	8	0	1	7	5	25	−20	1			0–3	1–5	1–2	1–1	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

UEFA Euro 2020

Main article: UEFA Euro 2020 Group C

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		NED	UKR	AUT	MKD
1	Netherlands (H)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to knockout phase		—
2	Ukraine	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0				—
3	Austria	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Possible knockout phase based on ranking				—
4	North Macedonia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0						—

First match(es) will be played on 13 June 2021. Source: UEFA
(H) Host.

2020–21 UEFA Nations League

Ukraine was drawn with the Switzerland, Spain, and Germany in League A. Although being in a difficult group, Ukraine however is believed to be a stubborn opponent, given how Ukraine impressed in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying. The Ukrainians started their campaign by overcoming Switzerland at home 2–1 to temporarily take the first place. However, Ukraine's next opponent, Spain, proved to be too strong, and Ukraine was unable to produce any significant threat and lost 0–4 to the Iberian giant. In October, Ukraine returned home to play two subsequent games against Germany and Spain, with nearly half of the main squad was infected with COVID-19 or injuries. The first match against Germany saw a disastrous performance of Heorhiy Bushchan, as his mistakes handled Germany a 2–1 win in Kyiv. With a demoralized squad, Ukraine had to face a powerful Spain who was impressing in the Nations League. However, despite significant absence of main key members due to injuries and COVID-19, Ukraine shocked by beating Spain for the first time with a 1–0 win to end Spain's 13 games undefeated streak. In November, Ukraine had two important games in order to survive in the League, and their first game against Germany away saw Ukraine got an early lead, but it was to be in vain when the Germans bounded back to win 3–1. Yet, as COVID-19 crisis in Ukraine worsened, eight players of the initial Ukrainian squad had been infected (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.^[18] As for the result, their game against Switzerland away as originally scheduled, was cancelled, and the matter had been put into question. Ukraine faces relegation if the game is awarded 3–0 to Switzerland or if the result is decided by a drawing of lots and Switzerland gets a 1–0 victory. Eventually, UEFA decided that the result was awarded 3–0 to Switzerland, meaning that Ukraine had been officially relegated after just a season in League A.

Main article: 2020–21 UEFA Nations League A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Spain	6	3	2	1	13	3	+10	11	Qualification to Nations League Finals		—	6–0	1–0	4–0
2	Germany	6	2	3	1	10	13	−3	9			1–1	—	3–3	3–1
3	Switzerland	6	1	3	2	9	8	+1	6[a]			1–1	1–1	—	3–0[b]
4	Ukraine (R)	6	2	0	4	5	13	−8	6[a]	Relegation to League B		1–0	1–2	2–1	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(R) Relegated.
Notes:

1. Tied on head-to-head points (3). Head-to-head goal difference: Switzerland +2, Ukraine −2.
2. The Switzerland v Ukraine match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Switzerland after being cancelled as Ukraine were placed in quarantine prior to the match due to positive SARS-CoV-2 tests in the team.

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group D

Main article: 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group D

Ukraine first got a surprise 1–1 draw over the world champions France, which was highly praised. Antoine Griezmann made the first goal in the 19th minute. Serhiy Sydorchuk then kicked the ball at the 57th minute which deflected off of Presnel Kimpembe for an own goal on France.^[19]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	France	3	2	1	0	4	1	+3	7	Qualification to 2022 FIFA World Cup		—	1–1	7 Sep	1 Sep	13 Nov
2	Ukraine	3	0	3	0	3	3	0	3	Advance to second round		4 Sep	—	1–1	12 Oct	1–1
3	Finland	2	0	2	0	3	3	0	2			16 Nov	9 Oct	—	2–2	4 Sep
4	Bosnia and Herzegovina	2	0	1	1	2	3	−1	1			0–1	16 Nov	13 Nov	—	7 Sep
5	Kazakhstan	2	0	1	1	1	3	−2	1			0–2	1 Sep	12 Oct	9 Oct	—

Updated to match(es) played on 31 March 2021. Source: FIFA, UEFA

However, Ukraine subsequently disappointed the next two games, when both their home games against weaker opponents Finland and Kazakhstan ended in two another one-one draws.

2022–23 UEFA Nations League

Stadiums

The most important matches of the Ukrainian national team are held in Kyiv's Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex, also home of Dynamo Kyiv. New infrastructure and stadiums were built in preparation for Euro 2012, and other venues include stadiums in the cities of Donetsk, Kharkiv, Lviv, Dnipro, Odesa. The alternative stadiums are: Metalist Stadium (Kharkiv), Arena Lviv (Lviv), Dnipro-Arena (Dnipro), and Chornomorets Stadium (Odessa).

During the Soviet time era (before 1991), only two stadiums in Ukraine were used in official games, the Olimpiysky NSC in Kyiv (known then as Republican Stadium) and the Lokomotiv Stadium in Simferopol.

Results and fixtures

Main article: Ukraine national football team results (2020–29)

The following matches were played or are scheduled to be played by the national team in the current or upcoming seasons.

2020

Ukraine  v  Israel

7 June 2020 Friendly	Ukraine	cancelled	Israel	Lviv, Ukraine
		Report		Stadium: Arena Lviv

Ukraine  v   Switzerland

3 September 2020 (2020-09-03) 2020–21 UEFA Nations League A	Ukraine	2–1	Switzerland	Lviv, Ukraine
21:45	Yarmolenko  14' Zinchenko  68'	Report	Seferović  41'	Stadium: Arena Lviv Attendance: 0 Referee: Andreas Ekberg (Sweden)

Spain  v  Ukraine

6 September 2020 (2020-09-06) 2020–21 UEFA Nations League A	Spain	4–0	Ukraine	Madrid, Spain
20:45	Ramos  3' (pen.), 29' Fati  32' F. Torres  84'	Report		Stadium: Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Benoît Bastien (France)

France  v  Ukraine

7 October 2020 Friendly	France	7–1	Ukraine	Saint-Denis, France
	Camavinga  9' Giroud  24', 34' Mykolenko  39' (o.g.) Tolisso  65' Mbappé  82' Griezmann  89'	Report	Tsyhankov  53'	Stadium: Stade de France Referee: Andris Treimanis (Latvia)

Ukraine  v  Germany

10 October 2020 (2020-10-10) 2020–21 UEFA Nations League A	Ukraine	1–2	Germany	Kyiv, Ukraine
21:45	Malinovskyi  77' (pen.)	Report	Ginter  20' Goretzka  49'	Stadium: NSK Olimpiyskiy Attendance: 17,573[20] Referee: Orel Grinfeld (Israel)

Ukraine  v  Spain

13 October 2020 (2020-10-13) 2020–21 UEFA Nations League A	Ukraine	1–0	Spain	Kyiv, Ukraine
21:45	Tsyhankov  76'	Report		Stadium: NSK Olimpiyskiy Referee: Paweł Gil (Poland)

Poland  v  Ukraine

11 November 2020 Friendly	Poland	2–0	Ukraine	Chorzów, Poland
20:45	Piątek  40' Moder  63'	Report		Stadium: Silesian Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Manuel Schüttengruber (Austria)

Germany  v  Ukraine

14 November 2020 (2020-11-14) 2020–21 UEFA Nations League A	Germany	3–1	Ukraine	Leipzig, Germany
20:45	Sané  23' Werner  33', 64'	Report	Yaremchuk  12'	Stadium: Red Bull Arena Referee: Ovidiu Hațegan (Romania)

Switzerland   v  Ukraine

17 November 2020 (2020-11-17) 2020–21 UEFA Nations League A	Switzerland	3–0 (awd.)	Ukraine	Lucerne, Switzerland
				Stadium: Swissporarena Referee: Anastasios Sidiropoulos (Greece)

2021

France  v  Ukraine

24 March 2021 (2021-03-24) 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification	France	1–1	Ukraine	Saint-Denis, France
20:45	Griezmann  19'	Report	Sydorchuk  57'	Stadium: Stade de France Referee: Tobias Stieler (Germany)

Ukraine  v  Finland

28 March 2021 (2021-03-28) 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification	Ukraine	1–1	Finland	Kyiv, Ukraine
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)	Moraes  80'	Report	Pukki  89' (pen.)	Stadium: NSK Olimpiyskiy Referee: István Kovács (Romania)

Ukraine  v  Kazakhstan

31 March 2021 (2021-03-31) 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification	Ukraine	1–1	Kazakhstan	Kyiv, Ukraine
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)	Yaremchuk  20'	Report	Muzhikov  59'	Stadium: NSK Olimpiyskiy Referee: Matej Jug (Slovenia)

Ukraine  v  Bahrain

23 May 2021 (2021-05-23) Friendly	Ukraine	v	Bahrain	Kharkiv, Ukraine
				Stadium: Metalist Stadium

Ukraine  v  Northern Ireland

3 June 2021 (2021-06-03)[a] Friendly	Ukraine	v	Northern Ireland	Kharkiv, Ukraine
				Stadium: Metalist Stadium

Ukraine  v  Cyprus

7 June 2021 (2021-06-07)[b] Friendly	Ukraine	v	Cyprus	Kharkiv, Ukraine
				Stadium: Metalist Stadium

Netherlands  v  Ukraine

13 June 2021 (2021-06-13) UEFA Euro 2020	Netherlands	v	Ukraine	Amsterdam, Netherlands
				Stadium: Johan Cruyff Arena

Ukraine  v  North Macedonia

17 June 2021 (2021-06-17) UEFA Euro 2020	Ukraine	v	North Macedonia	Bucharest, Romania
				Stadium: Arena Națională

Ukraine  v  Austria

21 June 2021 (2021-06-21) UEFA Euro 2020	Ukraine	v	Austria	Bucharest, Romania
				Stadium: Arena Națională

Kazakhstan  v  Ukraine

1 September 2021 (2021-09-01) 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification	Kazakhstan	v	Ukraine	Kazakhstan
16:00 (20:00 UTC+6)		Report

Ukraine  v  France

4 September 2021 (2021-09-04) 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification	Ukraine	v	France	Ukraine
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)		Report

Czech Republic  v  Ukraine

8 September 2021 (2021-09-08) Friendly

Czech Republic

v

Ukraine

Czech Republic

Finland  v  Ukraine

9 October 2021 (2021-10-09) 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification	Finland	v	Ukraine	Finland
18:00 (19:00 UTC+3)		Report

Ukraine  v  Bosnia and Herzegovina

12 October 2021 (2021-10-12) 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification	Ukraine	v	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Ukraine
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)		Report

Ukraine  v  Bulgaria

11 November 2021 (2021-11-11) Friendly

Ukraine

v

Bulgaria

Ukraine

Bosnia and Herzegovina  v  Ukraine

16 November 2021 (2021-11-16) 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification	Bosnia and Herzegovina	v	Ukraine	Bosnia and Herzegovina
20:45		Report

Player records

Main article: List of Ukraine international footballers

As of 31 March 2021^[21]

Players in bold are still active, at least at club level.

Most capped players

Anatoliy Tymoshchuk and Andriy Shevchenko being honored by UEFA in 2011 for their 100th cap. They are the first and second most capped players in the history of Ukraine.

Andriy Shevchenko is the top scorer in the history of Ukraine with 48 goals.

#	Player	Caps	Goals	Period
1	Anatoliy Tymoshchuk	144	4	2000–2016
2	Andriy Shevchenko	111	48	1995–2012
3	Ruslan Rotan	100	8	2003–2018
4	Oleh Husyev	98	13	2003–2016
5	Andriy Pyatov	96	0	2007–
6	Andriy Yarmolenko	92	38	2009–
	Oleksandr Shovkovskyi	92	0	1994–2012
8	Yevhen Konoplyanka	86	21	2010–
9	Serhiy Rebrov	75	15	1992–2006
10	Andriy Voronin	74	8	2002–2012

Top goalscorers

#	Player	Goals	Caps	Average	Period
1	Andriy Shevchenko	48	111	0.43	1995–2012
2	Andriy Yarmolenko	38	92	0.41	2009–
3	Yevhen Konoplyanka	21	86	0.24	2010–
4	Serhiy Rebrov	15	75	0.2	1992–2006
5	Oleh Husyev	13	98	0.13	2003–2016
6	Serhiy Nazarenko	12	56	0.21	2003–2012
7	Yevhen Seleznyov	11	58	0.19	2008–2018
8	Andriy Vorobey	9	68	0.13	2000–2008
	Andriy Husin	9	71	0.13	1993–2006
10	Tymerlan Huseynov	8	14	0.57	1993–1997
	Artem Kravets	8	23	0.35	2011–
	Artem Milevskyi	8	50	0.16	2006–2012
	Andriy Voronin	8	74	0.11	2002–2012
	Ruslan Rotan	8	100	0.08	2003–2018

Top goalkeepers

As of 31 March 2021^[update]

#	Player	Period	Games	Wins	GA	GAA
1	Andriy Pyatov	2007–	96	48	78	0.813
2	Oleksandr Shovkovskyi	1994–2012	92	38	80	0.87
3	Oleh Suslov	1994–1997	12	7	15	1.25
4	Vitaliy Reva	2001–2003	9	3	10	1.111
5	Andriy Dykan	2010–2012	8	5	11	1.375
	Maksym Levytskyi	2000–2002	8	1	10	1.25
7	Dmytro Tyapushkin	1994–1995	7	1	11	1.571
8	Valeriy Vorobyov	1994–1999	6	3	2	0.333
	Denys Boyko	2014–	6	3	6	1
	Andriy Lunin	2018–	6	2	6	1

Captains

See also: List of Ukraine national football team captains

As of 31 March 2021^[update][22]

#	Player	Period	Captain Caps	Total Caps
1	Andriy Shevchenko	1995–2012	58	111
2	Anatoliy Tymoshchuk	2000–2016	41	144
3	Oleh Luzhny	1992–2003	39	52
4	Ruslan Rotan	2003–2018	24	100
5	Andriy Pyatov	2007–	19	96
6	Yuriy Kalitvintsev	1995–1999	13	22
	Oleksandr Holovko	1995–2004	13	58
8	Oleksandr Shovkovskyi	1994–2012	12	92
9	Oleksandr Kucher	2006–2017	8	57
10	Andriy Yarmolenko	2009–	7	92

Managers

Last updated on 31 March 2021.^[23]

Manager	Nation	Ukraine career	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	Win %	Qualifying cycle	Final tour
Viktor Prokopenko		1992	3	0	1	2	2	5	0
Mykola Pavlov (caretaker)		1992	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Oleh Bazylevych		1993–1994	11	4	3	4	13	14	36.36	1996
Mykola Pavlov (caretaker)		1994	2	0	0	2	0	3	0
Yozhef Sabo		1994	2	1	1	0	3	0	50	1996
Anatoliy Konkov		1995	7	3	0	4	8	13	42.86	1996
Yozhef Sabo		1996–1999	32	15	11	6	44	26	46.88	1998, 2000
Valeriy Lobanovskyi		2000–2001	18	6	7	5	20	20	33.33	2002
Leonid Buryak		2002–2003	19	5	6	8	18	23	26.32	2004
Oleg Blokhin		2003–2007	46	21	14	11	65	40	45.65	2006, 2008	2006
Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko		2008–2009	21	12	5	4	31	16	57.14	2010
Myron Markevych[24]		2010	4	3	1	0	9	3	75
Yuriy Kalytvyntsev (caretaker)[25]		2010–2011	8	1	5	2	10	13	12.5
Oleg Blokhin[26]		2011–2012	18	7	3	8	27	28	38.89	2014	2012
Andriy Bal (caretaker)[27]		2012	2	0	1	1	0	1	0	2014
Oleksandr Zavarov (caretaker)		2012	1	1	0	0	1	0	100
Mykhaylo Fomenko[28]		2012–2016	37	24	6	7	67	22	64.86	2014, 2016	2016
Andriy Shevchenko		2016–	43	21	12	10	59	48	48.84	2018, 2020, 2022	2020

Coaching staff

Currently approved:^[29]

Position	Name
Head coach	Andriy Shevchenko
Assistant coaches	Mauro Tassotti Andrea Maldera Oleksandr Shovkovskyi
Goalkeeping coach	Pedro Luis Jaro
Fitness coaches	Vitaliy Kulyba Andrea Azzalin
Observer	Volodymyr Onyshchenko
Physiotherapist	Andriy Shmorhun
Analyst	Luigi Nocentini

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up to the extended preliminary squad to play the friendly matches against  Bahrain on 23 May 2021,  Northern Ireland on 3 June 2021 and  Cyprus on 7 June 2021.^[30][31]
Players records are accurate as of 31 March 2021 after the match against Kazakhstan.^[32][33]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
12	1GK	Andriy Pyatov (Captain)	(1984-06-28) 28 June 1984 (age 36)	96	0	Shakhtar Donetsk
	1GK	Andriy Lunin	(1999-02-11) 11 February 1999 (age 22)	6	0	Real Madrid
1	1GK	Heorhiy Bushchan	(1994-05-31) 31 May 1994 (age 26)	5	0	Dynamo Kyiv
23	1GK	Anatoliy Trubin	(2001-08-01) 1 August 2001 (age 19)	1	0	Shakhtar Donetsk
22	2DF	Mykola Matviyenko	(1996-05-02) 2 May 1996 (age 25)	33	0	Shakhtar Donetsk
21	2DF	Oleksandr Karavayev	(1992-06-02) 2 June 1992 (age 28)	30	1	Dynamo Kyiv
4	2DF	Serhiy Kryvtsov	(1991-03-15) 15 March 1991 (age 30)	21	0	Shakhtar Donetsk
2	2DF	Eduard Sobol	(1995-04-20) 20 April 1995 (age 26)	19	0	Club Brugge
	2DF	Vitaliy Mykolenko	(1999-05-29) 29 May 1999 (age 21)	13	0	Dynamo Kyiv
14	2DF	Bohdan Mykhaylichenko	(1997-03-21) 21 March 1997 (age 24)	6	0	Anderlecht
3	2DF	Illya Zabarnyi	(2002-09-01) 1 September 2002 (age 18)	6	0	Dynamo Kyiv
7	2DF	Oleksandr Tymchyk	(1997-01-20) 20 January 1997 (age 24)	3	0	Dynamo Kyiv
	2DF	Viktor Korniyenko	(1999-02-14) 14 February 1999 (age 22)	0	0	Shakhtar Donetsk
	2DF	Denys Popov	(1999-02-17) 17 February 1999 (age 22)	0	0	Dynamo Kyiv
13	2DF	Oleksandr Syrota	(2000-06-11) 11 June 2000 (age 20)	0	0	Dynamo Kyiv
	3MF	Andriy Yarmolenko	(1989-10-23) 23 October 1989 (age 31)	92	38	West Ham United
	3MF	Yevhen Konoplyanka	(1989-09-29) 29 September 1989 (age 31)	86	21	Shakhtar Donetsk
	3MF	Taras Stepanenko	(1989-08-08) 8 August 1989 (age 31)	59	3	Shakhtar Donetsk
17	3MF	Oleksandr Zinchenko	(1996-12-15) 15 December 1996 (age 24)	38	5	Manchester City
8	3MF	Ruslan Malinovskyi	(1993-05-04) 4 May 1993 (age 28)	35	6	Atalanta
5	3MF	Serhiy Sydorchuk	(1991-05-02) 2 May 1991 (age 30)	34	3	Dynamo Kyiv
20	3MF	Viktor Kovalenko	(1996-02-14) 14 February 1996 (age 25)	32	0	Atalanta
	3MF	Viktor Tsyhankov	(1997-11-15) 15 November 1997 (age 23)	25	5	Dynamo Kyiv
11	3MF	Marlos	(1988-06-07) 7 June 1988 (age 32)	22	1	Shakhtar Donetsk
18	3MF	Yevhenii Makarenko	(1991-05-21) 21 May 1991 (age 29)	10	0	Kortrijk
10	3MF	Mykola Shaparenko	(1998-10-04) 4 October 1998 (age 22)	9	0	Dynamo Kyiv
	3MF	Vitaliy Buyalskyi	(1993-01-06) 6 January 1993 (age 28)	8	0	Dynamo Kyiv
15	3MF	Oleksandr Zubkov	(1996-08-03) 3 August 1996 (age 24)	8	0	Ferencváros
6	3MF	Volodymyr Shepelyev	(1997-06-01) 1 June 1997 (age 23)	7	0	Dynamo Kyiv
	3MF	Oleksandr Andriyevskyi	(1994-06-25) 25 June 1994 (age 26)	1	0	Dynamo Kyiv
	3MF	Bohdan Lyednyev	(1998-04-07) 7 April 1998 (age 23)	0	0	Dynamo Kyiv
	3MF	Artem Bondarenko	(2000-08-21) 21 August 2000 (age 20)	0	0	Mariupol
	3MF	Heorhiy Sudakov	(2002-09-01) 1 September 2002 (age 18)	0	0	Shakhtar Donetsk
9	4FW	Roman Yaremchuk	(1995-11-27) 27 November 1995 (age 25)	22	7	Gent
	4FW	Artem Besyedin	(1996-03-31) 31 March 1996 (age 25)	13	2	Dynamo Kyiv
16	4FW	Artem Dovbyk	(1997-06-21) 21 June 1997 (age 23)	1	0	Dnipro-1

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	Dmytro Riznyk	(1999-01-30) 30 January 1999 (age 22)	0	0	Vorskla Poltava	v.  Finland, 28 March 2021
GK	Yuriy Pankiv	(1984-11-03) 3 November 1984 (age 36)	0	0	Oleksandriya	v.   Switzerland, 17 November 2020
GK	Mykyta Shevchenko	(1993-01-26) 26 January 1993 (age 28)	0	0	Zorya Luhansk	v.  Spain, 13 October 2020
GK	Oleksandr Shovkovskyi	(1975-01-02) 2 January 1975 (age 46)	92	0	Retired	v.  France, 7 October 2020
GK	Denys Boyko	(1988-01-29) 29 January 1988 (age 33)	6	0	Dynamo Kyiv	v.   Switzerland, 3 September 2020 ALT
DF	Yukhym Konoplya	(1999-08-26) 26 August 1999 (age 21)	3	0	Desna Chernihiv	v.  Finland, 28 March 2021
DF	Valeriy Bondar	(1999-02-27) 27 February 1999 (age 22)	1	0	Shakhtar Donetsk	v.   Switzerland, 17 November 2020
DF	Yevhen Cheberko	(1998-01-23) 23 January 1998 (age 23)	1	0	Osijek	v.   Switzerland, 17 November 2020
DF	Ihor Plastun	(1990-08-20) 20 August 1990 (age 30)	4	0	Gent	v.  Spain, 13 October 2020
DF	Serhiy Bolbat	(1993-06-13) 13 June 1993 (age 27)	5	0	Shakhtar Donetsk	v.  France, 7 October 2020 INJ
DF	Mykyta Burda	(1995-04-24) 24 April 1995 (age 26)	8	0	Dynamo Kyiv	v.   Switzerland, 3 September 2020 INJ
DF	Artem Shabanov	(1992-03-07) 7 March 1992 (age 29)	2	0	Legia Warsaw	v.   Switzerland, 3 September 2020 INJ
MF	Ihor Kharatin	(1995-02-02) 2 February 1995 (age 26)	4	0	Ferencváros	v.  France, 24 March 2021 COV
MF	Serhiy Buletsa	(1999-02-16) 16 February 1999 (age 22)	0	0	Dnipro-1	v.   Switzerland, 17 November 2020
MF	Oleksandr Nazarenko	(2000-02-01) 1 February 2000 (age 21)	0	0	Dnipro-1	v.   Switzerland, 17 November 2020
MF	Yevhen Shakhov	(1990-11-30) 30 November 1990 (age 30)	7	1	AEK Athens	v.  Poland, 11 November 2020 COV
MF	Roman Bezus	(1990-09-26) 26 September 1990 (age 30)	23	5	Gent	v.  Spain, 13 October 2020
FW	Júnior Moraes	(1987-04-04) 4 April 1987 (age 34)	11	1	Shakhtar Donetsk	v.  Kazakhstan, 31 March 2021
FW	Vladyslav Supriaha	(2000-02-15) 15 February 2000 (age 21)	0	0	Dynamo Kyiv	v.  Poland, 11 November 2020 COV
FW	Artem Kravets	(1989-06-03) 3 June 1989 (age 31)	23	8	Konyaspor	v.  Poland, 11 November 2020 INJ

Notes:

• ^COV = Withdrew due to COVID-19
  
• ^INJ = Injured.
• ^WD = Withdrew.
• ^PRE = Preliminary squad.
• ^RET = Retired from the national team.
• ^SUS = Suspended for the next match.
• ^U21 = Joined the Ukraine national under-21 team instead.
• ^ALT = Alternate - replaces a member of the squad in case of injury/unavailability

Previous squads

• 2006 FIFA World Cup squads – Ukraine
• UEFA Euro 2012 squads – Ukraine
• UEFA Euro 2016 squads – Ukraine

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

Main article: Ukraine at the FIFA World Cup

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place  

FIFA World Cup record										FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
as Part of  Soviet Union										as Part of  Soviet Union
1930	Did not enter									Did not enter						—
1934																1934
1938																1938
1950																1950
1954																1954
1958	Quarter-finals	6th	5	2	1	2	5	6		4	3	0	1	16	3	1958
1962	Quarter-finals	6th	4	2	1	1	9	7		4	4	0	0	11	3	1962
1966	Fourth place	4th	6	4	0	2	10	6		6	5	0	1	19	6	1966
1970	Quarter-finals	5th	4	2	1	1	6	2		4	3	1	0	8	1	1970
1974	Withdrew[34]									4	3	0	1	5	2	1974
1978	Did not qualify									4	2	0	2	5	3	1978
1982	Second group stage	7th	5	2	2	1	7	4		8	6	2	0	20	2	1982
1986	Round of 16	10th	4	2	1	1	12	5		8	4	2	2	13	8	1986
1990	Group stage	17th	3	1	0	2	4	4		8	4	3	1	11	4	1990
as  Ukraine										as  Ukraine
1994	FIFA member from 1992. Not admitted to the tournament.[c]									FIFA member from 1992. Not admitted to the tournament.[c]
1998	Did not qualify
										12	6	3	3	11	9	1998
2002										12	4	6	2	15	13	2002
2006	Quarter-finals	8th	5	2	1	2	5	7		12	7	4	1	18	7	2006
2010	Did not qualify									12	6	4	2	21	7	2010
2014										12	7	3	2	30	7	2014
2018										10	5	2	3	13	9	2018
2022	To be determined									2	0	2	0	2	2	2022
2026										To be determined						2026
Total	Quarter-finals	1/7	5	2	1	2	5	7		72	35	24	13	110	54

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

UEFA European Championship

Main article: Ukraine at the UEFA European Championship

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place  

UEFA European Championship record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
as Part of  Soviet Union										as Part of  Soviet Union
1960	Champions	1st	2	2	0	0	5	1		2	2	0	0	4	1	1960
1964	Runners-up	2nd	2	1	0	1	4	2		4	2	2	0	7	3	1964
1968	Fourth Place	4th	2	0	1	1	0	2		8	6	0	2	19	8	1968
1972	Runners-up	2nd	2	1	0	1	1	3		8	5	3	0	16	4	1972
1976	Did not qualify									8	4	1	3	12	10	1976
1980										6	1	3	2	7	8	1980
1984										6	4	1	1	11	2	1984
1988	Runners-up	2nd	5	3	1	1	7	4	8	5	3	0	14	3	1988
as Part of  CIS
1992	Group stage	8th	3	0	2	1	1	4	8	5	3	0	13	2	1992
as  Ukraine									as  Ukraine
1996	Did not qualify								10	4	1	5	11	15	1996
2000									12	5	6	1	16	7	2000
2004									8	2	4	2	11	10	2004
2008									12	5	2	5	18	16	2008
2012	Group stage	13th	3	1	0	2	2	4	Qualified as host nation
2016	Group stage	24th	3	0	0	3	0	5	12	7	2	3	17	5	2016
2020	Qualified		0	0	0	0	0	0	8	6	2	0	17	4	2020
2024	To be determined								To be determined
Total	Group stage	3/7	6	1	0	5	2	9	62	29	17	16	90	57

Qualifying campaigns

FIFA World Cup	UEFA European Championship
1994 – Qualifying spot not granted by FIFA	1996 – 4th in Qualifying group 4
1998 – 2nd in Qualifying group 9, lost to Croatia in play-off	2000 – 2nd in Qualifying group 4, lost to Slovenia in play-off
2002 – 2nd in Qualifying group 5, lost to Germany in play-off	2004 – 3rd in Qualifying group 6
2006 – Qualified for the tournament (1st in Qualifying group 2)	2008 – 4th in Qualifying group B
2010 – 2nd in Qualifying group 6, lost to Greece in play-off	2012 – Qualified for the tournament (as a host nation)
2014 – 2nd in Qualifying group H, lost to France in play-off	2016 – Qualified for the tournament (3rd in Qualifying group C, won over Slovenia in play-off)
2018 – 3rd in Qualifying group I	2020 – Qualified for the tournament (Winner in Qualifying group B)

UEFA Nations League

UEFA Nations League record
Year	Division	Group	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	P/R	RK
2018–19	B	1	4	3	0	1	5	5		14th
2020–21	A	4	6	2	0	4	5	13		13th
2022–23	B	To be determined
Total			10	5	0	5	10	18	13th

All-time team record

World Map of Ukraine's opponents (2014)

The following table shows Ukraine's all-time international record, correct as of 31 March 2021.^[36][37][38]

Key

	Positive balance (more wins)
	Neutral balance (equal W/L ratio)
	Negative balance (more losses)

Against	Confederation	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD
Albania	UEFA	6	5	1	0	13	4	+9
Andorra	UEFA	4	4	0	0	17	0	+17
Armenia	UEFA	8	5	3	0	17	8	+9
Austria	UEFA	2	1	0	1	4	4	0
Azerbaijan	UEFA	2	1	1	0	6	0	+6
Belarus	UEFA	9	5	3	1	12	5	+7
Brazil	CONMEBOL	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2
Bulgaria	UEFA	5	3	2	0	7	2	+5
Cameroon	CAF	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Canada	CONCACAF	1	0	1	0	2	2	0
Chile	CONMEBOL	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1
Costa Rica	CONCACAF	1	1	0	0	4	0	+4
Croatia	UEFA	9	1	3	5	5	15	−10
Cyprus	UEFA	3	1	1	1	5	5	0
Czech Republic	UEFA	4	2	1	1	3	5	−2
Denmark	UEFA	3	1	1	1	2	2	0
England	UEFA	7	1	2	4	3	9	−6
Estonia	UEFA	5	5	0	0	11	0	+11
Faroe Islands	UEFA	2	2	0	0	7	0	+7
Finland	UEFA	3	2	1	0	4	2	+2
France	UEFA	11	1	4	6	7	22	−15
Georgia	UEFA	9	6	3	0	16	6	+10
Germany	UEFA	8	0	3	5	7	17	−10
Greece	UEFA	6	2	2	2	4	3	+1
Hungary	UEFA	2	0	0	2	2	5	−3
Iceland	UEFA	4	1	2	1	3	4	−1
Iran	AFC	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1
Israel	UEFA	6	2	3	1	7	5	+2
Italy	UEFA	8	0	2	6	3	15	−12
Japan	AFC	3	2	0	1	3	2	+1
Kazakhstan	UEFA	5	4	1	0	10	4	+6
Kosovo	UEFA	2	2	0	0	5	0	+5
Latvia	UEFA	3	2	1	0	3	1	+2
Libya	CAF	2	1	1	0	4	1	+3
Lithuania	UEFA	10	7	1	2	20	8	+12
Luxembourg	UEFA	5	5	0	0	12	1	+11
Malta	UEFA	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1
Mexico	CONCACAF	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1
Moldova	UEFA	5	3	2	0	6	3	+3
Montenegro	UEFA	2	1	0	1	4	1	+3
Morocco	CAF	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Netherlands	UEFA	2	0	1	1	1	4	−3
Niger	CAF	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1
Nigeria	CAF	1	0	1	0	2	2	0
Northern Ireland	UEFA	5	2	2	1	3	3	0
North Macedonia	UEFA	4	2	1	1	3	1	+2
Norway	UEFA	5	4	1	0	5	0	+5
Poland	UEFA	9	3	2	4	9	11	-2
Portugal	UEFA	4	2	1	1	4	3	+1
Romania	UEFA	6	2	1	3	10	14	−4
Russia	UEFA	2	1	1	0	4	3	+1
San Marino	UEFA	2	2	0	0	17	0	+17
Saudi Arabia	AFC	2	1	1	0	5	1	+4
Scotland	UEFA	2	1	0	1	3	3	0
Serbia	UEFA	7	6	1	0	16	3	+13
Slovakia	UEFA	8	3	3	2	9	10	–1
Slovenia	UEFA	6	1	3	2	7	7	0
South Korea	AFC	2	0	0	2	0	3	−3
Spain	UEFA	7	1	1	5	4	14	−10
Sweden	UEFA	4	2	1	1	4	3	+1
Switzerland	UEFA	3	1	2	0	4	3	+1
Tunisia	CAF	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1
Turkey	UEFA	9	2	3	4	9	11	−2
United Arab Emirates	AFC	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
United States	CONCACAF	4	3	1	0	5	1	+4
Uruguay	CONMEBOL	1	0	0	1	2	3	−1
Uzbekistan	AFC	2	2	0	0	4	1	+3
Wales	UEFA	3	1	2	0	3	2	+1
Total	5/6	273	124	76	74	377	225	+152

Home venues 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	61	29	20	12	87	51	1.75
Valeriy Lobanovskyi Dynamo Stadium	Kyiv	20	13	5	2	38	15	2.2
Arena Lviv	Lviv	13	11	2	0	32	5	2.69
Metalist Oblast Sports Complex	Kharkiv	11	6	1	4	16	8	1.73
Ukraina Stadium	Lviv	6	6	0	0	14	5	3
Chornomorets Stadium	Odesa	5	4	1	0	6	2	2.6
Donbass Arena	Donetsk	5	0	1	4	2	9	0.2
Dnipro-Arena	Dnipro	3	2	1	0	4	2	2.33
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		129	72	33	24	203	104	1.93

Last updated: 28 March 2021. Statistics include official FIFA-recognised matches only.

FIFA Ranking history

^[39][40]

1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
90	77	71	59	49	47	27	34	45	45	60	57	40	13	30	15	22	34	55	47	18	25	29	30	35	28	24	24

Kits and sponsors

Kit history and evolution

On 29 March 2010, Ukraine debuted a new Adidas kit.^[41] This replaced the Adidas kit with a yellow base and the traditional Adidas three stripe with a snake sash which was used in 2009.^[42]Prior to 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 starting from the year 2017 for the match against Croatia on 24 March 2017.^[43]

Former crest.

Sponsors

Marketing for the Football Federation of Ukraine is conducted by the Ukraine Football International (UFI).

• Title sponsor: Epicentr (since 2013)^[44][45][46]
• Premium (General) sponsors: Chernihivske (since 1998)
• Official sponsors: Henkel (Ukraine), Adidas, Airline "MAU" (Ukraine International Airlines), NIKO (official Mitsubishi distributor in Ukraine), Boris clinic, Tour agency "Love Cyprus", Resort center "Grand Admiral Club"

Former title and general sponsors included Ukrtelecom, Kyivstar,^[47] Nordex (Austria),^[48][49] and Geoton.

See also

• Ukraine national under-21 football team
• Ukraine national under-19 football team
• Ukraine national under-18 football team
• Ukraine national under-17 football team
• Ukraine national under-16 football team
• Ukrainians on the Soviet Union national football team

Notes

1. The Ukraine v Northern Ireland match, originally scheduled for 2 June 2020, at the NSK Olimpiyskiy, Kyiv was postponed due to the coronavirus. The match was later rescheduled to 3 June 2021.
2. The Ukraine v Cyprus match, originally scheduled for 26 May 2020, at the Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv was postponed due to the coronavirus. The match was later rescheduled to 7 June 2021.
3. FIFA adopted a decision not to allow to participate in the 1994 FIFA World Cup the national teams of those former Soviet republic that did not participate in the qualification draw on 8 December 1991.^[8] A proposition of Ukraine to arrange a separate tournament for all successors of the Soviet Union and supported by Georgia and Armenia was blocked by Russia.^[35]

References

1. источники, Внешние. "Шевченко - главный тренер сборной Украины".
2. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 7 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
3. Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
4. uefa.com. "Member associations - Ukraine - Profile – UEFA.com". UEFA.com.
5. The Ukrainian Football National Team of 1925–1935 (in Ukrainian)
6. Ukrainian Soccer History website (in Ukrainian)
7. New York Times, 8 December 1991, Nations Lining Up for the Big Drawing
8. At the crossing (На переправе). Kopanyi myach.
9. "RSSSF European Championship 1988 – Final Tournament – Full Details". Rsssf.com. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
10. https://en.uaf.ua/article/33444
11. 1992 season of the Russian national football tean. Rusteam.permian.ru
12. In captivity of emotions and ambitions (В плену у эмоций и амбиций). Fanat (from Komanda newspaper).
13. From Korea - empty-handed ("supping unsalted") (Из Кореи - не солоно хлебавши). Komanda newspaper (by Fanat)
14. Slovenians surprised and got surprised (Словенцы удивили и удивились). Komanda newspaper (by Fanat).
15. Premature compliments (Преждевременные комплименты). Komanda newspaper (by Fanat)
16. Hopes are new, yet result is erstwhile (Надежды новые, результат прежний). Komanda newspaper (by Fanat)
17. To make [necessary] conclusions and [continue] to work (Сделать выводы и работать). Komanda newspaper (by Fanat)
18. Hlyvynskyi, Oleksandr (17 November 2020). "Official: League of Nations game Switzerland - Ukraine canceled - Official site of the Ukrainian Football Association". Ukrainian Association of Football. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
19. UEFA.com. "France-Ukraine | European Qualifiers". UEFA.com. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
20. Oleg Semenchenko. On the game Ukraine – Germany are present 17,573 fans (На матче Украина - Германия присутствуют 17 573 болельщика). Footboom. 10 October 2020
21. Mamrud, Roberto. "Ukraine - Record International Players". RSSSF.
22. Вербицький, Іван. "Шевчук – 25-й у історії збірної України капітан" (in Ukrainian).
23. http://zbirna.com/2018/01/04/v-chem-andrej-shevchenko-uzhe-prevzoshel-valeriya-lobanovskogo/
24. "Copy of the document for the resgnation". Retrieved 7 December 2011.
25. "Збірну довірили Калитвинцеву (National team was entrusted to Kalitvintsev)". www.ffu.org.ua (in Ukrainian). 25 August 2010.
26. Ukraine appoint Blokhin, Sky Sports (21 April 2011)
27. Андрій Баль призначений в.о. головного тренера збірної України (Andriy Bal is appointed acting head coach of the Ukrainian national team), www.ua-football.com (6 October 2012)
28. Ukraine's football federation taps Fomenko to coach national team, Kyiv Post (26 December 2012)
29. https://en.uaf.ua/national/coaches
30. https://en.uaf.ua/article/41986
31. https://en.uaf.ua/article/41993
32. Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Ukraine (2021)". www.national-football-teams.com.
33. "Ukraine - Record International Players". www.rsssf.com.
34. Refused to play the return leg of a play-off in Chile in the aftermath of that country's 1973 military coup
35. We hacked window to America (Прорубили окно в Америку). Komanda newspaper (by Fanat)
36. "All matches". ffu.org.ua. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
37. "All-time Ukraine national football team international record". eu-football.info. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
38. https://www.worldfootball.net/teams/ukraine-team/21/
39. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking - Associations - Ukraine - Men's". FIFA.com. 14 September 2017.
40. FIFA.com. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking - Associations - Ukraine - Men's - FIFA.com". www.fifa.com. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
41. "Новую форму сборной первым примерил Ракицкий (+фото) (New uniform for the National team was first fitted by Rakytsky with photo)". ua.football (in Russian). Globalinfo (Kyiv, Ukraine). 29 March 2010.
42. "Ukraine 09/10 Adidas football kits". footballshirtculture. 6 February 2009. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
43. https://www.joma-sport.com/en/news/joma-official-technical-sponsor-of-football-federation-of-ukraine
44. "Спонсор збірної України пообіцяв $2 млн. за вихід на ЧС-2014 - Факти". 22 January 2013.
45. "Article-news at epicentrk.com.ua".
46. Presentation of new sponsors in 2013 on YouTube. Youtube channel of FFU.
47. источники, Внешние. "Спонсори збірної України, їх статуси і класифікація".
48. Announcement of the game Ukraine vs Estonia. Fanat.ua
49. Ukraine 3:1 Belarus (Украина Белоруссия 3:1). Fanat.ua

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ukraine national association football team.

• Ukraine at the Euro 2016. FFU special website.
• Ukrainian page on FIFA's website (include upcoming fixtures)
• Official website of the Ukrainian Association of Football
• Ukrainian Football
• Soccerway Profile
• National Team Roster and Match History
• Ukrainian Soccer History website (in Ukrainian)
• RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers
• Media library of Ukrainian National Football Team
• ELO ratings
• List of Ukrainian international players perished in car crashes
• Ukraine Football International website
• Complete List of Teams and Results