The Ukraine national team has decided to hold a home match in the qualifying tournament for the World Cup against Azerbaijan on October 13 at the 'Krakovia' stadium in the Polish city of Krakow. This information has been announced by the Ukrainian Football Association.
The 'Krakovia' stadium, where our national team has already played twice, holds just over 15,000 spectators and is the main venue for the local club 'Krakovia'. In October 2016, Ukraine defeated Kosovo 3:0 here and drew with Scotland in September 2022 in the Nations League-2022/2023.
Qualification for the 2026 World Cup
As part of the qualification for the 2026 World Cup, the European Football Association (UEFA) will distribute 16 spots. Qualifying matches in Europe will take place from March 2025 to March 2026 in two stages. The first stage will consist of 12 groups, the winners of which will receive direct qualification. The second teams and four best winners of the Nations League will play in playoff mini-tournaments.
The second stage will include playoff mini-tournaments in March 2026, where 16 teams will compete for four spots in the World Cup. Additionally, qualifying matches will also take place on other continents. It is worth noting that Russia will not participate in the qualification due to suspension.
Summary:
The Ukrainian football team has decided to hold its next home match in the qualifying tournament for the World Cup in Poland at the 'Krakovia' stadium in the city of Krakow. This will be an important game in the qualification for the 2026 World Cup, for which the qualification process in Europe has already begun, where 16 spots for the tournament will be distributed. The qualification program will also include playoff matches where teams will compete for the right to secure a place in the competitions.