Ukraine national football team
The Ukraine national football team 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, the team played their Hungary football match|first match] against Hungary on 29 April 1992. In their debut in a major world championship, the team reached the quarter-finals in the 2006 [FIFA World Cup]. In addition to Russia and Uzbekistan, 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. Four years later, Ukraine finished third in their qualifying group for Euro 2016 and advanced for the first time, via the play-off route and qualifiers, to reach a UEFA European Championship tournament. This marked the first time in Ukraine's six play-off appearances that it managed to win 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, reaching the quarter-finals for the first time in both cases.
History
Ukrainian SSR (1924–1990)
The national team was formed in the early 1990s and was recognized internationally soon thereafter. Ukraine, under the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, previously had a national team in 1924–1935 just like the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. The national team included the players Andriy Ponomarenko, Ivan Privalov, Volodymyr Fomin, H. Syrota, Mykola Fomin, Anatoliy Lisnyi, Oleksandr Shatokha, Dmytro Kyryllov, Dmytro Starusev, Serhiy Kopeiko, Petro Parovyshnykov ; Valentyn Prokofyev, Fedir Tyutchev, H. Yakubovskyi, Ivan Vladymyrskyi, Serafim Moskvin, Kazymyr Piontkovskyi, Mykhailo Pashuta, Vasiliy Yepishin, Adam Bem, K. Us, Volodymyr Prasolov.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 took 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 its place in the qualifying tournament for the 1994 World Cup. The Ukraine national team did not enter the tournament as it was not yet admitted to FIFA. Meanwhile, some of the best Ukrainian players of the 1990s chose to play for Russia. At the time, Vyacheslav Koloskov, a top official from the former Soviet Union and later Russia, served as a vice-president of UEFA from 1980–1996 representing the Soviet Union and later the Commonwealth of Independent States.The Soviet Union's five-year UEFA coefficient, was transferred to the Russian national team. As a result, a crisis was created for both the national team and the domestic league.
Controversy developed because the Ukrainian football league lacked adequate funding for their teams due to the economic crisis affecting all CIS countries. There also was a reverse influx of players; 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.
In the following years, the Ukrainian team improved, including talents like Andriy Shevchenko, Serhiy Rebrov, and Oleksandr Shovkovskyi.
First official games (Prokopenko)
In 1992, Ukraine was accepted as a full member to FIFA and UEFA at which time Ukraine selected its first manager by members of a coaching council which consisted of Anatoliy Puzach, Yevhen Kucherevskyi, Yevhen Lemeshko, Yukhym Shkolnykov and Viktor Prokopenko. Later, they were joined by Valeriy Yaremchenko. The circle was narrowed to three specialists and Prokopenko eventually became the manager.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 a "phantom" CIS team in place of the Soviet Union playing against England in Moscow in preparation for the UEFA Euro 1992. That year the Ukrainian team lost some notable players to the Soviet Union team. Following several losses to Hungary and a draw to the United States, Prokopenko resigned and the last season game was led by his assistants Mykola Pavlov and Leonid Tkachenko.
Euro 1996 qualification (Bazylevych)
Ukraine appointed head coach, Oleh Bazylevych, who made his debut with the national team in the spring of 1993 in Odesa during a friendly game against Israel, resulting in a 1–1 draw. Less than one month later, Ukraine finally won in Vilnius against Lithuania. During that 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 home loss 2–0 to Lithuania. Following the defeat and a weak performances in preceding friendlies, Bazylevych was fired and the tour to South Korea was led by the Bazylevych assistants Pavlov and Muntyan. Soon thereafter the Federation signed 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.
Under Sabo's management, the team's next home game against Slovenia ended goalless and they eventually beat Estonia 3–0, gaining their first win in an official competitive game. At the beginning of the year the Football Federation confirmed Anatoliy Konkov as the new head coach on 5 January 1995.
Under coach Konkov, the team started with away losses of 4–0 to Croatia and 3–0 to Italy. Following the losses, there was a three-game winning streak including a home victory against Croatia. A subsequent loss to Slovenia had the team finishing in fourth place in its first qualification campaign behind Lithuania.
1998–2004: near misses
Following Konkov's departure in 1996, the Federation appointed Sabo as head coach. Separately, there was a preliminary agreement with Lobanovsky to coach following his contract end with Kuwait.Ukraine participated in 1998 [FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)|1998 World Cup qualification], where the team was drawn into 1998 [FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 9|Group 9]. Ukraine took second place, 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 of Shevchenko as well as providing more play time for players such as Oleksandr Shovkovsky and Serhiy Rebrov.
In the Euro 2000 qualifying">UEFA Euro 2000">Euro 2000 qualifying, Ukraine, assigned in Group 4, finished above Russia, thanks to an important draw in Moscow and a home victory. However, they 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 resulted in Ukraine qualifying for the playoff, losing to Germany, 5–2 on aggregate. Under public pressure, particularly the Higher League, head coaches argued for the removal of Lobanovsky and the Federation decided not to renew its contract with Lobanovsky, instead moving him to Dynamo Kyiv.
In the UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying, Ukraine with the new head coach Leonid Buryak, was assigned into Euro 2004 qualifying Group 6|Group 6], with Spain and Greece. Ukraine failed to qualify.
2006 World Cup
After the Euro 2004 qualifying match, 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, playing Denmark and their last campaign against rivals Greece. This was the first successful qualification campaign for Ukraine despite a poor home turf performance.In the 2006 World Cup, Ukraine was 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 round 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.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. Following the failure to qualify, the Federation decided not to renew the contract with Mykhaylychenko.
As co-hosts, Ukraine qualified automatically for Euro 2012, 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. 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. 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 played against France, beating 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 and later Oleksandr Zavarov.In 2012, the Federation appointed Mykhailo Fomenko as a head coach. Even though the team under Fomenko did not manage to qualify for the World Cup, the Federation decided to retain his services until the end of 2015.
During ongoing conflicts with Russian, Ukraine in Euro 2016 qualifying|Euro 2016 qualifying] was drawn against Spain, Slovakia, Belarus, Macedonia national football team|Macedonia] and Luxembourg. Despite having won all matches except those against Spain and Slovakia, Ukraine finished third. They defeated Slovenia in the playoff, marking their first qualification for a major tournament through the playoffs.
Ukraine lost all three games at Euro 2016 without scoring a goal.
Following the Euro 2016, Fomenko was replaced with Andriy Shevchenko as head coach. 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 but lost to Croatia failing to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since UEFA Euro 2004.
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.
As the COVID-19 crisis in Ukraine worsened, eight players from the starting squad tested positive, as a result the entire delegation was put into quarantine by the Department of Health of the Canton of Lucerne. Their game against Switzerland away was subsequently cancelled. 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.
Ukraine qualified for the knockout stages in the European Championship as one of the best third-placed teams for the first time in the 2020 tournament, postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19. They beat Sweden 2–1 in the round of 16,and were then defeated by England in the quarter-final, recording their best finish at a major tournament since 2006.
In August 2021, Shevchenko was replaced with Oleksandr Petrakov. In the 2022 World Cup qualifying rounds, Ukraine drew 1–1 in both games against France. Ukraine would qualify for the playoff after breaking the record set by Australia for the most consecutive draws in World Cup qualification, with five straight draws. 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, winning 3–1 at Hampden Park, but ultimately losing 1–0 to Wales.
Ukraine, was relegated to League B in the 2nd Nations League due to their last-place finish, 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.
In the UEFA [Euro 2024 qualifying Group C|qualifiers for the Euro 2024], Ukraine finished third in their group, with four wins, two draws and two defeats.
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. 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. In this decisive final, as in the semi-final against Bosnia, Ukraine 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, only three stadiums in Ukraine were used for official games:
- Olimpiysky NSC in Kyiv, the predecessor of Chornomorets
- BSS Central Stadium in Odesa
- Lokomotiv Stadium in Simferopol
Home venue record
Since Ukraine's first fixture they have played their home games at 11 different stadiums.Kits and sponsors
Kit history and evolution
On 29 March 2010, Ukraine debuted a new Adidas kit. This replaced the Adidas kit with a yellow base and the traditional Adidas three stripe with a snake sash which was used in 2009. Before 5 February 2009, Ukraine wore a Lotto kit which was used for the 2006 World Cup.Sponsors
Marketing for the Football Federation of Ukraine is conducted by the Ukraine Football International.- Title sponsor: Epicentr
- Premium sponsors: Chernihivske
- Official sponsors: Henkel, Adidas, Airline "MAU", NIKO, Boris clinic, Tour agency "Love Cyprus", Resort center "Grand Admiral Club"
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 Results and fixturesThe following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.Coaching staffCurrently approved:
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