Ukraine national football team

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.[3][4] 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).

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,[5] 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.[6] 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[7]), 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.[6] This is understandable in terms of the general economic crisis that has affected all of the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries.[6] Yet even in contrast with Russia, the Ukrainian teams looked very poor.[6] However, there also was a reverse influx of some top class players.[6] Viktor Leonenko agreed on transfer from Dynamo Moscow to Dynamo Kyiv.[6] The Russian club did not want to release him, but Leonenko did not want to continue to play in Moscow.[6] During his first six months in Kyiv Viktor was forced to miss due to the FIFA disqualification.[6]

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.

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.[8]

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.[9] 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.

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.[10] 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.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14] 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).[15]

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.

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, whom they beat on penalties. In the quarter-finals, they were beaten 0–3 by eventual champions Italy.

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.

Ukraine national football team in 2012

As co-hosts, Ukraine qualified automatically for Euro 2012,[2] 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.

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

Pos	Team	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	—

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.

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

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.

Pos	Team	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	—

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.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion[lower-alpha 1]
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	—

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 centre-back Yaroslav Rakytskiy absent due to his controversial move to Russian club Zenit Saint 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 Yevhen 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 Patrício on 6 minutes. In the 27th minute, Ukraine doubled their advantage with an Andriy 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 Aleksandar 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	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	—

Ukraine was drawn with Switzerland, Spain, and Germany in League A. The Ukrainians started their campaign by overcoming Switzerland at home 2–1 to temporarily take first place. However, their next opponent Spain proved to be too strong, and Ukraine was unable to produce any significant threat, losing 4–0. In October, Ukraine returned home to play two subsequent games against Germany and Spain, with nearly half of the main squad having contracted COVID-19 or injured. The first match against Germany saw a German win by a score of 2–1 in Kyiv. With a demoralized squad, Ukraine had to face a powerful Spain side who was impressing in the Nations League. However, despite significant absence of many key members, Ukraine shockingly defeated 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 obtain an early lead, but it was to be in vain when the Germans bounced back to win 3–1. 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.[16] Their game against Switzerland away was sequently 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 were to be handed a 1–0 victory. Eventually, UEFA decided that the match result would be 3–0 in favour of Switzerland, meaning that Ukraine had been officially relegated after just one season in League A.

Pos	Team	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[lower-alpha 1]			1–1	1–1	—	3–0[lower-alpha 2]
4	Ukraine (R)	6	2	0	4	5	13	−8	6[lower-alpha 1]	Relegation to League B		1–0	1–2	2–1	—

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Netherlands (H)	3	3	0	0	8	2	+6	9	Advance to knockout phase
2	Austria	3	2	0	1	4	3	+1	6
3	Ukraine	3	1	0	2	4	5	−1	3
4	North Macedonia	3	0	0	3	2	8	−6	0

Ukraine managed to qualify to the knockout stages in the European Championship for the first time, as one of the best third-placed teams. Then, they upset the Swedish team, 2–1, in the round of 16, on June 29, as Artem Dovbyk scored the winning goal at 120+1 minute. Unfortunately, they were not able to progress to the semi-finals as they were knocked out 4–0 by England in the quarter-final. Ironically, Ukraine's quarter-finals finish in Euro 2020 would end up seeing Italy emerged victorious in the tournament once again, a repeat of the 2006 FIFA World Cup performance.

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.[17] However, Ukraine subsequently disappointed the next three games, when both their home games against weaker opponents Finland and Kazakhstan ended in two another one-one draws, before tying Kazakhstan 2–2 on the road as well on September 1, with Ukraine blew up its lead in the injury times of the second half. Following the game against France at home, where Ukraine blew up its lead to end the game in yet another 1–1 draw, Ukraine has officially broken the record previously held by Australia for the most consecutive draws in a World Cup qualification, with five straight draws out of five to Australia's four back in the previous qualification, leaving Ukraine's hope to qualify for Qatar in limbo.

They 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. Yet in the final week, Ukraine managed to qualify for the playoffs after a 2-0 win over Bosnia and a Finnish lose to France. Ukraine was matched to play Scotland in the playoff Group A semifinals.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	France	8	5	3	0	18	3	+15	18	Qualification to 2022 FIFA World Cup		—	1–1	2–0	1–1	8–0
2	Ukraine	8	2	6	0	11	8	+3	12	Advance to play-offs		1–1	—	1–1	1–1	1–1
3	Finland	8	3	2	3	10	10	0	11			0–2	1–2	—	2–2	1–0
4	Bosnia and Herzegovina	8	1	4	3	9	12	−3	7			0–1	0–2	1–3	—	2–2
5	Kazakhstan	8	0	3	5	5	20	−15	3			0–2	2–2	0–2	0–2	—

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

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

On 29 March 2010, Ukraine debuted a new Adidas kit.[18] This replaced the Adidas kit with a yellow base and the traditional Adidas three stripe with a snake sash which was used in 2009.[19] 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.[20]

Former crest.

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

• Title sponsor: Epicentr (since 2013)[21][22][23]
• 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,[24] Nordex (Austria),[25][26] and Geoton.

Last updated on 16 November 2021.[29][30]

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[31]		2010	4	3	1	0	9	3	75
Yuriy Kalytvyntsev (caretaker)[32]		2010–2011	8	1	5	2	10	13	12.5
Oleg Blokhin[33]		2011–2012	18	7	3	8	27	28	38.89	2014	2012
Andriy Bal (caretaker)[34]		2012	2	0	1	1	0	1	0	2014
Oleksandr Zavarov (caretaker)		2012	1	1	0	0	1	0	100
Mykhaylo Fomenko[35]		2012–2016	37	24	6	7	67	22	64.86	2014, 2016	2016
Andriy Shevchenko		2016–2021	51	25	13	13	71	61	49.02	2018, 2020, 2022	2020
Oleksandr Petrakov (caretaker until 17 November 2021)		2021–	7	2	5	0	10	7	28.57	2022

The following players players were called up for the friendly match against Bulgaria and the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Bosnia and Herzegovina on 11 and 16 November 2021.[36]
Caps and goals updated as of 16 November 2021, after the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.[37][38][39][40]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
12	1GK	Andriy Pyatov (captain)	(1984-06-28) 28 June 1984	101	0	Shakhtar Donetsk
1	1GK	Heorhiy Bushchan	(1994-05-31) 31 May 1994	13	0	Dynamo Kyiv
23	1GK	Dmytro Riznyk	(1999-01-30) 30 January 1999	1	0	Vorskla Poltava
22	2DF	Mykola Matviyenko	(1996-05-02) 2 May 1996	47	0	Shakhtar Donetsk
21	2DF	Oleksandr Karavayev	(1992-06-02) 2 June 1992	40	1	Dynamo Kyiv
4	2DF	Serhiy Kryvtsov	(1991-03-15) 15 March 1991	30	0	Shakhtar Donetsk
2	2DF	Eduard Sobol	(1995-04-20) 20 April 1995	27	0	Club Brugge
13	2DF	Illya Zabarnyi	(2002-09-01) 1 September 2002	18	0	Dynamo Kyiv
18	2DF	Oleksandr Tymchyk	(1997-01-20) 20 January 1997	10	0	Dynamo Kyiv
3	2DF	Taras Kacharaba	(1995-01-07) 7 January 1995	1	0	Slavia Prague
7	3MF	Andriy Yarmolenko	(1989-10-23) 23 October 1989	106	44	West Ham United
6	3MF	Taras Stepanenko	(1989-08-08) 8 August 1989	69	4	Shakhtar Donetsk
17	3MF	Oleksandr Zinchenko	(1996-12-15) 15 December 1996	48	8	Manchester City
5	3MF	Serhiy Sydorchuk	(1991-05-02) 2 May 1991	47	3	Dynamo Kyiv
8	3MF	Ruslan Malinovskyi	(1993-05-04) 4 May 1993	45	6	Atalanta
15	3MF	Viktor Tsyhankov	(1997-11-15) 15 November 1997	35	6	Dynamo Kyiv
20	3MF	Viktor Kovalenko	(1996-02-14) 14 February 1996	33	0	Spezia
10	3MF	Mykola Shaparenko	(1998-10-04) 4 October 1998	23	1	Dynamo Kyiv
11	3MF	Oleksandr Zubkov	(1996-08-03) 3 August 1996	18	1	Ferencváros
14	3MF	Vitaliy Buyalskyi	(1993-01-06) 6 January 1993	9	0	Dynamo Kyiv
9	4FW	Roman Yaremchuk	(1995-11-27) 27 November 1995	36	12	Benfica
19	4FW	Denys Harmash	(1990-04-19) 19 April 1990	31	2	Dynamo Kyiv
16	4FW	Artem Dovbyk	(1997-06-21) 21 June 1997	6	2	Dnipro-1

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	6	0	Real Madrid	v.  Bulgaria, 11 November 2021 RES
GK	Anatoliy Trubin	(2001-08-01) 1 August 2001	2	0	Shakhtar Donetsk	v.  Bulgaria, 11 November 2021 RES
GK	Denys Boyko	(1988-01-29) 29 January 1988	7	0	Dynamo Kyiv	v.  Finland, 9 October 2021 WD
DF	Viktor Korniyenko	(1999-02-14) 14 February 1999	2	1	Shakhtar Donetsk	v.  Bulgaria, 11 November 2021
DF	Vitaliy Mykolenko	(1999-05-29) 29 May 1999	21	0	Dynamo Kyiv	v.  Bulgaria, 11 November 2021 INJ
DF	Yukhym Konoplya	(1999-08-26) 26 August 1999	3	0	Shakhtar Donetsk	v.  Bulgaria, 11 November 2021 RES
DF	Valeriy Bondar	(1999-02-27) 27 February 1999	1	0	Shakhtar Donetsk	v.  Bulgaria, 11 November 2021 RES
DF	Artem Shabanov	(1992-03-07) 7 March 1992	2	0	Dynamo Kyiv	v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 12 October 2021
DF	Oleksandr Syrota	(2000-06-11) 11 June 2000	1	0	Dynamo Kyiv	v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 12 October 2021
DF	Bohdan Mykhaylichenko	(1997-03-21) 21 March 1997	6	0	Anderlecht	v.  Finland, 9 October 2021 RES
DF	Denys Popov	(1999-02-17) 17 February 1999	1	0	Dynamo Kyiv	v.  Sweden, 29 June 2021 INJ
MF	Ihor Kharatin	(1995-02-02) 2 February 1995	4	0	Legia Warsaw	v.  Bulgaria, 11 November 2021 RES
MF	Serhiy Buletsa	(1999-02-16) 16 February 1999	3	0	Zorya Luhansk	v.  Bulgaria, 11 November 2021 RES
MF	Oleksandr Pikhalyonok	(1997-05-07) 7 May 1997	0	0	Dnipro-1	v.  Bulgaria, 11 November 2021 RES
MF	Vladyslav Kocherhin	(1996-04-30) 30 April 1996	1	0	Zorya Luhansk	v.  Finland, 9 October 2021 RES
MF	Vladyslav Kalitvintsev	(1993-01-04) 4 January 1993	0	0	Desna Chernihiv	v.  Finland, 9 October 2021 RES
MF	Yevhenii Makarenko	(1991-05-21) 21 May 1991	15	0	Fehérvár	v.  Czech Republic, 8 September 2021
MF	Yevhen Konoplyanka	(1989-09-29) 29 September 1989	86	21	Shakhtar Donetsk	v.  Kazakhstan, 1 September 2021 RES
MF	Marlos	(1988-06-07) 7 June 1988	27	1	Unattached	v.  England, 3 July 2021 RET
MF	Roman Bezus	(1990-09-26) 26 September 1990	24	5	Gent	v.  England, 3 July 2021
MF	Heorhiy Sudakov	(2002-09-01) 1 September 2002	3	0	Shakhtar Donetsk	v.  England, 3 July 2021
MF	Bohdan Lyednyev	(1998-04-07) 7 April 1998	0	0	Dynamo Kyiv	v.  Northern Ireland, 3 June 2021
MF	Artem Bondarenko	(2000-08-21) 21 August 2000	0	0	Shakhtar Donetsk	UEFA Euro 2020 PRE
MF	Volodymyr Shepelyev	(1997-06-01) 1 June 1997	7	0	Dynamo Kyiv	v.  Bahrain, 23 May 2021 INJ
MF	Oleksandr Andriyevskyi	(1994-06-25) 25 June 1994	1	0	Dynamo Kyiv	v.  Bahrain, 23 May 2021 INJ
FW	Danylo Sikan	(2001-04-16) 16 April 2001	4	1	Shakhtar Donetsk	v.  Bulgaria, 11 November 2021
FW	Artem Besedin	(1996-03-31) 31 March 1996	18	2	Dynamo Kyiv	v.  England, 3 July 2021
FW	Júnior Moraes	(1987-04-04) 4 April 1987	11	1	Shakhtar Donetsk	v.  Kazakhstan, 31 March 2021 INJ

Notes:

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

• 2006 FIFA World Cup squad
• UEFA Euro 2012 squad
• UEFA Euro 2016 squad
• UEFA Euro 2020 squad

As of 16 November 2021

As of 16 November 2021[42]

  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
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.[lower-alpha 3]									FIFA member from 1992. Not admitted to the tournament.[lower-alpha 3]
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									8	2	6	0	11	8	2022
2026										To be determined						2026
Total	Quarter-finals	1/7	5	2	1	2	5	7		78	37	28	13	119	60

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

  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
1960 to 1992 as Part of  Soviet Union and  CIS										1960 to 1992 as Part of  Soviet Union and  CIS
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	12th	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	Quarter-finals	8th	5	2	0	3	6	10		8	6	2	0	17	4	2020
2024	To be determined									To be determined
Total	Quarter-finals	3/7	11	3	0	8	8	19		62	29	17	16	90	57