Ukraine National Football Team: Preparations for Upcoming Matches
Ukraine’s national football squad is readying for two exhibition games against Poland and Denmark. The roster has shifted due to injuries: goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk of Shakhtar Donetsk and midfielder Oleksiy Hutsulyak from Polissya Zhytomyr are out. In their place, midfielder Danylo Ihnatenko, who plays for Slovan Bratislava in Slovakia, has been called up.
Ukraine Squad Roster
The full squad is listed below:
- Goalkeepers: Anatoliy Trubin (Benfica, Lisbon, Portugal), Andriy Lunin (Real Madrid, Spain), Ruslan Neshcheret (Dynamo Kyiv), Heorhiy Yermakov (Maccabi Haifa, Israel).
- Defenders: Illia Zabarnyi (Paris Saint-Germain, France), Mykola Matviyenko, Valeriy Bondar (both Shakhtar Donetsk), Taras Mykhavko (Dynamo Kyiv), Eduard Sarapiy (Polissya Zhytomyr), Vitaliy Mykolenko (Everton, Liverpool, England), Oleksandr Romanchuk (Universitatea Craiova, Romania).
- Midfielders: Oleh Ocheretko, Artem Bondarenko, Yehor Nazaryna (all Shakhtar Donetsk), Oleksandr Nazarenko (Polissya Zhytomyr), Mykola Shaparenko, Andriy Yarmolenko, Volodymyr Brazhko (all Dynamo Kyiv), Heorhiy Sudakov (Benfica, Lisbon, Portugal), Viktor Tsyhankov (Girona, Spain), Hennadiy Synchuk (Montreal, Canada), Ruslan Malinovskyi (Genoa, Italy), Danylo Ihnatenko (Slovan Bratislava, Slovakia).
- Forwards: Roman Yaremchuk (Lyon, France), Matviy Ponomarenko (Dynamo Kyiv), Artem Dovbyk (Roma, Italy).
A reserve list includes Nazar Voloshyn (Dynamo Kyiv), Dmytro Kryskiv (Shakhtar Donetsk), Ihor Krasnopir (Polissya Zhytomyr), and Maksym Khlan (Górnik Zabrze, Poland).
Exhibition Match Schedule
The friendly matches are scheduled as follows: May 31, Ukraine faces Poland at Wrocław Stadium in Wrocław, Poland, at 18:30; June 7, they play Denmark at Odense Stadium in Odense, Denmark, at 19:30.
Additionally, all participants for the 2026 FIFA World Cup have been finalized and divided into groups:
- Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Czech Republic.
- Group B: Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar, Switzerland.
- Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland.
- Group D: United States, Paraguay, Australia, Turkey.
- Group E: Germany, Curaçao, Ivory Coast, Ecuador.
- Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Tunisia.
- Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand.
- Group H: Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay.
- Group I: France, Senegal, Iraq, Norway.
- Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan.
- Group K: Portugal, DR Congo, Uzbekistan, Colombia.
- Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama.
Teams finishing first and second in their groups will advance to the Round of 16, along with the eight best third-place finishers from the group stage.
Recall that Ukraine’s national team lost to Sweden in the semifinal playoff for the 2026 World Cup, with a score of 1–3. Goals came from Ponomarenko (90+1) and Gyökeres (6, 51, 72).
These friendlies against Poland and Denmark are crucial for Ukraine as the team looks to regain form after their World Cup playoff disappointment. The matches offer an opportunity for newcomers like Danylo Ihnatenko to showcase their skills and secure a spot in the starting lineup. Given recent tough results, the coaching staff can experiment with new formations and strategies ahead of future official competitions.
As the senior team gears up for their friendly matches, it's worth noting that the U-21 squad is also preparing for upcoming encounters. They will be facing the USA and Japan in friendly matches held in Slovenia, providing a valuable opportunity for young talents to showcase their skills. To learn more about their schedule and player selections, visit the details of the U-21 matches.