The Ukraine national football team ( uk, Збірна України з футболу) represents

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

in men's international

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and is governed by the

Ukrainian Association of Football The Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) ( uk, Українська асоціяція футболу, Ukrayins'ka Asotsiyatsiya Futbolu) is the governing body of football in Ukraine. Before 2019 it was known as the Football Federation of Ukr ...

, the governing body for

football in Ukraine Football is the most popular sport in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Association of Football is the national governing body and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the game of football in the country. It was organized in 1991 to replace the So ...

. Ukraine's home ground is the Olimpiyskiy Stadium in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

. The team has been a full member of

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

and

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

since 1992. After

Ukrainian Independence Ukraine emerged as the concept of a nation, and the Ukrainians as a nationality, with the Ukrainian National Revival which began in the late 18th and early 19th century. The first wave of national revival is traditionally connected with the publ ...

and the country's breakaway from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, they played their

first match ''First Match'' is a 2018 American drama film written and directed by Olivia Newman, based on her 2010 short film of the same name. The film stars Elvire Emanuelle, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Colman Domingo, Jharrel Jerome, and Jared Kemp. The film pr ...

against

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

on 29 April 1992. The team reached the quarter-finals in the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

, their debut in the finals of a major championship. Apart from Russia, 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 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

. Four years later, Ukraine finished third in their qualifying group for

Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...

and advanced via the play-off route to reach a

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...

tournament through the qualifiers for the first time. This marked the first time in Ukraine's six play-off appearances that it managed to win such a tie, having lost previous play-off ties for the 1998 World Cup,

Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

, 2002 World Cup,

2010 World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...

and 2022 World Cup. Ukraine's best performance in the

was in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, where they reached the quarter-finals for the first time.

History

Ukrainian SSR (1925–1990)

The national team was formed in the early 1990s and was recognized internationally soon afterwards. It is not widely known, however, that Ukraine previously had a national team in 1925–1935. Just like the

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

, the

Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

had its own national team. 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 Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

city team was planned to take place in Moscow; at the All-Soviet tournament, Ukraine reached the final where it lost to Moscow 1–0, after defeating

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

and

Transcaucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

. In 1929, Ukraine beat

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

in an exhibition match in

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Soviet Union national team. After the collapse of the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

in 1991,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

took its place in the qualifying tournament for the 1994 World Cup. The national team of Ukraine did not manage to enter the tournament on account of it not yet being admitted to FIFA. Meanwhile, some of the best Ukrainian players of the beginning of the 1990s (including

Andrei Kanchelskis Andrei Antanasovich Kanchelskis ( uk, Андрій Антанасович Канчельскіс; russian: Андрей Антанасович Канчельскис; born 23 January 1969) is a professional football manager and former player. He ...

Viktor Onopko Viktor Savelyevich Onopko (russian: link=no, Виктор Савельевич Онопко; born 14 October 1969) is a Russian football coach and a former defender of Ukrainian origin. He is an assistant coach with FC Rostov and the Russia na ...

Sergei Yuran Sergei Nikolayevich Yuran (russian: link=no, Сергей Николаевич Юран, uk, Сергій Миколайович Юран ''Serhij Mykolajovyč Juran''; born 11 June 1969) is a Russian professional football manager and a forme ...

Yuriy Nikiforov Yuriy Valeryevich Nikiforov (alternate spelling Valeriovych; , uk, Юрій Валерійович Никифоров; born 16 September 1970) is a professional football coach and a former player who played mainly as a central defender. Cl ...

Ilya Tsymbalar Ilya Vladimirovich Tsymbalar (Илья́ Влади́мирович Цымбала́рь; 17 June 1969 – 28 December 2013) was a Ukrainian-Russian professional football player and coach. A midfielder, he represented both Ukraine and Russia o ...

and

Oleg Salenko Oleg Anatolyevich Salenko (russian: Олег Анатольевич Саленко, uk, Олег Анатолійович Саленко; born 25 October 1969) is a Russian-Ukrainian former footballer who played as a forward. He scored a recor ...

) chose to play for

, as it was named the official successor of the Soviet Union. At that time

Vyacheslav Koloskov Vyacheslav Ivanovich Koloskov (russian: Вячеслав Иванович Колосков, June 15, 1941, Moscow, USSR) is a Russian and Soviet sport functionary, vice-president of FIFA (1980–1996). Career He was a football player but without ...

was the only top official from the former Soviet Union and later the

who served as a vice-president of

in 1980–1996 and represented all of members of the Soviet Union and later the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...

The Soviet Union's five-year

UEFA coefficient In European football, the UEFA coefficients are statistics based in weighted arithmetic means used for ranking and seeding teams in club and international competitions. Introduced in 1979 for men's football tournaments, and after applied in wome ...

, despite being earned in part by Ukrainian players (for example, in the final of the last successful event,

Euro 1988 The 1988 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in West Germany from 10 to 25 June 1988. It was the eighth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. The tournament crowned the Nethe ...

, under the direction of

Valery Lobanovsky Valeriy Vasylyovych Lobanovskyi ( uk, Вале́рій Васи́льович Лобано́вський ; russian: Вале́рий Васи́льевич Лобано́вский; 6 January 1939 – 13 May 2002) was а Ukrainian football pla ...

, 7 out of the 11 starting players were Ukrainians), 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. Another reason for the occurred harsh crisis in the Ukrainian football was lack of adequate funding of teams, due to the general economic crisis that has affected all of the

CIS Cis or cis- may refer to: Places * Cis, Trentino, in Italy * In Poland: ** Cis, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-central ** Cis, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, north Math, science and biology * cis (mathematics) (cis(''θ'')), a trigonome ...

countries. There also was a reverse influx of players;

Viktor Leonenko Viktor Yevhenovych Leonenko ( ua, Ві́ктор Євге́нович Лео́ненко; russian: Виктор Евгеньевич Леоненко; born 5 October 1969) is a former footballer and Ukraine international who played as a forward. ...

agreed on transfer from

Dynamo Moscow MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (russian: МГО ВФСО «Динамо»), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (russian: Динамо Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first ...

Dynamo Kyiv Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Union, Soviet Dynamo Sports Club, Dynamo Sports Soc ...

. 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, showcasing talents like Andriy Shevchenko, ,

Serhiy Rebrov Serhiy Stanislavovych Rebrov ( uk, Сергій Станіславович Ребров; born 3 June 1974) is a Ukrainian professional football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is in charge of UAE Pro League side Al-Ain. R ...

and

Oleksandr Shovkovskyi Oleksandr Volodymyrovych Shovkovskyi ( uk, Олександр Володимирович Шовковський; born 2 January 1975) is a Ukrainian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played for Dynamo Kyiv in the Uk ...

First official games (Prokopenko)

Soon after being accepted to

and

as a full member in 1992, Ukraine selected its first manager by members of a coaching council which consisted of

Anatoliy Puzach Anatoliy Kyrylovych (or Anatoli Kirillovich) Puzach ( uk, Анатолій Кирилович Пузач, russian: Анатолий Кириллович Пузач; 3 June 1941 – 19 March 2006) was a Ukrainian football player and coach. Earl ...

(manager of

Yevhen Kucherevskyi Yevhen Mefodiyovych Kucherevskyi ( uk, Євген Мефодiйoвич Кучеревський, russian: Евгений Мефодьевич Кучеревский) (6 August 1941 – 26 August 2006) was a Ukrainian football coach. He is most f ...

( FC Dnipro),

Yevhen Lemeshko Yevhen Lemeshko ( uk, Євген Пилипович Лемешко; 11 December 1930 – 2 June 2016) was a Ukrainian football coach and chairman of the Council of Veteran Footballers. He started his football career as a player for FC Dynamo Kyiv, ...

( Torpedo Zaporizhzhia), Yukhym Shkolnykov ( Bukovyna Chernivtsi) and

Viktor Prokopenko Viktor Prokopenko ( uk, Віктор Прокопенко) (24 October 1944 – 18 August 2007) was a Ukrainian football (soccer) player and coach who played in GDR and Ukrainian SSR including teams of the Soviet Top League and later worked a ...

(

Chornomorets Odesa FC Chornomorets Odesa ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Odesa. The club's home ground is the 34,164 capacity Chornomorets Stadium opened in 1935 and rebuilt in 2011. According to the club's website, it was formed in 1936 a ...

). Later, they were joined by Valeriy Yaremchenko (

Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk ( uk, Футбольний клуб «Шахтар» Донецьк , short nickname "miners") is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. In 2014, due to the War in Donbass, the club was f ...

). The circle was narrowed to three specialists; Prokopenko eventually became the manager. Ukraine played their first match on 29 April 1992 against Hungary in

Uzhhorod Uzhhorod ( uk, У́жгород, , ; ) is a city and municipality on the river Uzh in western Ukraine, at the border with Slovakia and near the border with Hungary. The city is approximately equidistant from the Baltic, the Adriatic and the B ...

at the Avanhard Stadium, losing 3–1 with the sole Ukrainian goal scored by

Ivan Hetsko Ivan Hetsko (born 6 April 1968) is a former Soviet and Ukrainian international football player who played 4 matches for the Ukraine national football team. His only goal happened to be the first goal of Ukraine in the national side's first ever ...

. With the creation of "fantom" (transitional) CIS team in place of the

playing its own friendly against the

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in Moscow in preparation to the

UEFA Euro 1992 The 1992 UEFA European Football Championship was hosted by Sweden between 10 and 26 June 1992. It was the ninth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. Denmark won the 1992 championship, having qualifi ...

, the Ukrainian team lost some notable players to the that team. Following couple of losses to Hungary and a tie to United States, Prokopenko resigned and the last season game that year for the national team was led by his assistants

Mykola Pavlov Mykola Petrovych Pavlov ( uk, Микола Петрович Павлов) (russian: Николай Петрович Павлов; born 20 June 1954 in Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR) is a former Ukrainian football defender, and former head-coach of Illyc ...

and Leonid Tkachenko.

Euro 96 qualification (Bazylevych)

Ukraine appointed another head coach,

Oleh Bazylevych Oleh Petrovych Bazylevych ( uk, Оле́г Петро́вич Базиле́вич; also: Bazilevich, Bazylewicz; 6 July 1938 – 16 October 2018

, who made his debut with the national team in the spring of 1993 in

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

during a friendly against

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, a 1–1 draw. Less than a month later Ukraine finally won, in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

in an away friendly against Lithuania. During the summer they lost 3–1 to Croatia; Ukraine was later seeded in

Group 4 Group 4 may refer to: *Group 4 element, chemical element classification *Group 4 (racing), classification for cars in auto racing and rallying * G4S, formerly Group 4 Securicor, a prominent British security company *IB Group 4 subjects The Group 4 ...

of the

UEFA Euro 1996 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...

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 surprising home loss 2–0 to Lithuania. Following the defeat and a weak performance in preceding friendlies Bazylevych was fired and on the tour to South Korea the team was led by the Bazylevych assistants Pavlov and Muntyan as a temporary replacement until Federation signs a contract with

Valeriy Lobanovsky Valeriy Vasylyovych Lobanovskyi ( uk, Вале́рій Васи́льович Лобано́вський ; russian: Вале́рий Васи́льевич Лобано́вский; 6 January 1939 – 13 May 2002) was а Ukrainian football play ...

. on 24 September, the

Football Federation of Ukraine The Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) ( uk, Українська асоціяція футболу, Ukrayins'ka Asotsiyatsiya Futbolu) is the governing body of football in Ukraine. Before 2019 it was known as the Football Federation of Ukra ...

appointed

Yozhef Sabo Yozhef Yozhefovich Sabo ( uk, Йожеф Йожефович Сабо; hu, Szabó József; born 29 February 1940) is a former Ukrainian football player and football manager. He is of Hungarian background. He is baptized as a Greek-Catholic. ...

as an acting manager until the end of the year after Lobanovsky signed a contract with

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

With the new manager, their next home game against

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

ended goalless and they then beat Estonia 3–0 gaining their first win in official competitive game. At the beginning of the year Football Federation confirmed

Anatoliy Konkov Anatoliy Konkov ( uk, Анатолій Дмитрович Коньков; born 19 September 1949) is a Ukrainian former football player and recognized as the Merited Master of Sports of the USSR (1982). He was elected as the President of the Foot ...

as the new head coach on 5 January 1995. Oleg Blokhin-ua

With Konkov the team started with away losses 4–0 to Croatia and 3–0 to Italy. After that there was a three-games winning streak including a home victory against Croatia and theoretical hopes which were abruptly cut after loss to Slovenia and the team finished at the fourth place in its first qualification campaign behind Lithuania.

1998–2004: near misses

Following expiration of a year-long contract with Konkov, in 1996 the Federation appointed Sabo as a head coach and received a preliminary agreement that Lobanovsky will become available following his contract with Kuwait. Ukraine participated in 1998 World Cup qualification, where the team was drawn into

Group 9 Group 9 may refer to: * Group 9 element *Group 9 Rugby League Group 9 is a rugby league competition based in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia, and surrounding areas. The competition is played in five grades, with these being Under 17s, U ...

. Ukraine took second place, only behind

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and ahead of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

but was defeated in a play-off stage 3–1 on aggregate by

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. The qualification campaign became notable as a beginning of international career for

Shevchenko Shevchenko (alternative spellings Schevchenko, Ševčenko, Shevcenko, Szewczenko, Chevchenko; ua , Шевченко), a family name of Ukrainian origin. It is derived from the Ukrainian word ''shvets'' ( uk, швець), " cobbler/shoemaker", and ...

as well as more play time for some other players such as Oleksandr Shovkovsky and

. In

UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying Qualifying for the UEFA Euro 2000 final tournament, took place throughout 1998 and 1999. Forty-nine teams were divided into nine groups. All teams played against each other, within their groups, on a home-and-away basis. The winner of each group ...

, Ukraine, assigned in

, finished above

, thanks to an important draw in

and a home victory, but still only qualified for the playoff behind the French side despite being undefeated. Ukraine then fell to

3–2 on aggregate. Following the qualification campaign, the Federation finally signed a contract with

, ending the Sabo's tenure as a head coach. The 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification saw Ukraine in

Group 5 Group 5 may refer to: *Group 5 element, chemical element classification *Group 5 (racing) Group 5 was an FIA motor racing classification which was applied to four distinct categories during the years 1966 to 1982. Initially Group 5 regulations def ...

. With Lobanovsky as a head coach there were expectations of the first qualification to the finals. Yet, Ukraine suffered a home loss to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

in their opening match, and a number of draws had resulted in Ukraine qualifying for the playoff again, losing to Germany, 5–2 on aggregate. Under a public pressure, particularly the Higher League head coaches who argued that the national team head coach cannot competently serve for both club and national, as well as health issues of Lobanovsky himself, the Federation decided not to renew contract with Lobanovsky letting him concentrate on

. In

UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying Qualification for the 2004 UEFA European Championship took place between September 2002 and November 2003. Fifty teams were divided into ten groups, with each team playing the others in their group twice, once at home and once away. The top te ...

, Ukraine with the new head coach and another former Dynamo Kyiv star

Leonid Buryak Leonid Yosipovich Buryak ( uk, Леонід Йосипович Буряк; born 10 July 1953) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian football (soccer), football Coach (sport), coach, and a former Olympic bronze medal, bronze-medal-winning player. Career Burya ...

was assigned into

Group 6 Group 6 may refer to: *Group 6 element, chemical element classification *Group 6 (racing) Group 6 was the official designation applied by the FIA to two motor racing classifications, the Prototype-Sports Car category from 1966 to 1971 and the Two ...

, with

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. Ukraine failed to qualify.

2006 FIFA World Cup

After Euro 2004 qualifying, Ukraine appointed

Oleg Blokhin Oleg Vladimirovich Blokhin, or Oleh Volodymyrovych Blokhin ( uk, Оле́г Володи́мирович Блохі́н, rus, Оле́г Влади́мирович Блохи́н; born 5 November 1952), is a former Ukrainian and Soviet footbal ...

as the national team's head coach. Seeded at the

Group 2 The term Group 2 may refer to: * Alkaline earth metal, a chemical element classification * Astronaut Group 2, also known as The New Nine, the second group of astronauts selected by NASA in 1962 * Group 2 (racing), an FIA classification for cars in ...

Ukraine went on to qualify as a group winners for their first-ever

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

on 3 September 2005 after drawing 1–1 against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

and ahead of Turkey, Denmark and the last campaign rivals Greece among others. This also was the first successful qualification campaign for Ukraine despite a poor home turf performance. In the 2006 World Cup, they were in the Group H with

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

. After losing 4–0 in the first match against Spain, the Ukrainians won the next two matches to face

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

in the round of 16. Tying at 0, Ukraine managed to take Switzerland to 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 that did not lose or yield a single goal was sent home early with Ukraine advancing to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals Ukraine facing

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

was defeated with the 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 were placed in

UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group B Standings and results for Group B of the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying tournament. Italy and France secured qualification to the tournament proper on 17 November 2007 following Italy's 2–1 win against Scotland, becoming the fifth and sixth teams in ...

, along with

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

; Ukraine had also performed poorly against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

, ultimately finishing in fourth place. Due to the bleak performance of the national team

resigned and surprisingly signed with the recently established

FC Moscow :''This article refers to the Moscow government team formed in 2004. For the predecessors in the Russian Premier League, see FC Torpedo-ZIL and FC Torpedo-Metallurg.'' FC Moscow (Russian: Футбольный клуб Москва) was a Russian ...

. With another Soviet football star player

Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko Oleksiy Oleksandrovych Mykhaylychenko ( uk, Олексій Олександрович Михайличенко; born 30 March 1963) is a Ukrainian football coach and former professional player. He is a Distinguished Master of Sports of the US ...

as the new head coach, 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification saw Ukraine in

, drawing

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and winning against

, sending Ukraine to the playoff. Greece, which had been eliminated by Ukraine in the qualifiers four years earlier, would eventually get revenge. Following failure to qualify, the Federation decided not to renew contract with Mykhaylychenko. Ukraine national football team 20120611

As co-hosts, Ukraine qualified automatically for

Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

, marking their debut in the

. The Federation decided to appoint

Myron Markevych Myron Bohdanovych Markevych ( uk, Мирон Богданович Маркевич; born 1 February 1951) is a Ukrainian football manager and a former midfielder. He worked as a manager in the Ukrainian Premier League and the Ukrainian national ...

to prepare and lead the national team in the Euro finals. However, following few friendlies Markevych resigned due to the off-pitch politics and having holding coaching office of both national team and

Metalist Kharkiv Football Club Metalist Kharkiv ( uk, Футбо́льний Клуб Металі́ст Ха́рків ) is a Ukrainian football club based in Kharkiv that plays in the Ukrainian First League during the 2021–22 season. It was revived 5 years ...

. For the next several games in 2010-11 the national team was led by a caretaker

Yuriy Kalitvintsev Yuriy Mykolayovych Kalitvintsev ( uk, Юрій Миколайович Калитвинцев, russian: link=no, Ю́рий Никола́евич Калитвинцев; born 5 May 1968) is a football manager and former player who manages Poli ...

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 Ukrainian national team signing a four year contract. With Blokhin at helm in their opening game against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, Ukraine won 2–1 in Kyiv. In Donetsk, Ukraine was eliminated after a 2–0 loss to

and a 1–0 defeat to England.

2014–present

Seeded at the UEFA Group H Ukraine qualified for yet another playoff, after two wins over Poland and two draws over England, where they would play against France. Ukraine beat France at home 2–0, but suffered a 3–0 loss away, thus being eliminated from the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

. Blokhin who remained a head coach following the home Euro 2012 had to stepped down due to health concerns in autumn of 2012 soon after the first home game against

and was replaced by Andriy Bal and later

Oleksandr Zavarov Oleksandr Anatoliyovych Zavarov, also spelt Aleksandr Anatoljević Zavarov ( uk, Олександр Анатолійович Заваров, russian: Заваров, Александр Анатольевич) – (born 26 April 1961 in Luhansk, ...

. While considering hiring a first foreign specialist, the Federation finally appointed

Mykhailo Fomenko Mykhaylo Ivanovych Fomenko ( uk, Михайло Іванович Фоменко; born 19 September 1948) is a Ukrainian former association footballer and former head coach of the Ukraine national team. With the ongoing

Russian aggression This is a list of wars and armed conflicts in and involving Russia and its predecessors in chronological order, from the 9th to the 21st century. The Russian military and troops of its predecessor states in Russia took part in a large number ...

, Ukraine in Euro 2016 qualifying were drawn against Spain,

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

, Belarus, Macedonia and

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

. Despite having won all matches besides Spain, they finished third due to results against Spain and Slovakia. They defeated

in the playoff. Ukraine lost all three games at Euro 2016 without scoring a goal; a 2–0 loss to Germany, a 2–0 loss to Northern Ireland, and Poland 1–0. Following the Euro 2016, Fomenko was replaced with Andriy Shevchenko as a head coach who served as his assistant during the Euro finals. Seeded in the UEFA Group I, Ukraine started off with a home draw to

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

in 2018 World Cup qualifying and an away draw to

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. This was followed by two home wins, 3–0 against

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

and 1–0 against

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. After a 1–0 away loss to

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, they beat Finland 2–1 away and Turkey 2–0 at home, they lost 2–0 away to Iceland and won 2–0 away win against Kosovo. Losing to Croatia at home, they failed to qualify for the playoffs for their first time since UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying and in all its previous FIFA World Cup qualification. In the inaugural UEFA Nations League, Ukraine were drawn with

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and

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, before ending with a 4–1 away loss to Slovakia. Ukraine were placed in a group with Euro 2016 title holders

as well as

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

among other teams. Its opening game of the qualifying campaign Ukraine visited Portugal which was led by returning

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...

. The match ended 0–0. The second game, against

, ended up as a 2–1 win, preceding Ukraine's 5–0 win against Serbia, along with a narrow 1–0 win against Luxembourg. 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 Portugal. Ukraine won 2–1 and the group before drawing Serbia 2–2. Ukraine were drawn with

, and

in the next Nations League. The Ukrainians started their campaign by overcoming Switzerland at home 2–1 to temporarily take first place. However, their next opponent Spain won 4–0. Germany then won 2–1 in

. Ukraine then defeated Spain for the first time with a 1–0 win. Germany swept Ukraine after a 1–0 deficit was cancelled for a 3–1 victory. As the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

crisis in Ukraine worsened, eight players from the starting squad tested positive (including one positive

SARS-CoV-2 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), the respiratory illness responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had a ...

test upon arrival to

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...

), and as a result, the entire delegation was put into quarantine by the Department of Health of the

Canton of Lucerne The canton of Lucerne (german: Kanton Luzern rm, Chantun Lucerna french: Canton de Lucerne it, Canton Lucerna) is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the centre of Switzerland. The population of the canton (as of ) is . , the populati ...

. 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. Ukraine managed to qualify to the knockout stages in the European Championship for the first time in 2020, as one of the best third-placed teams. They beat Sweden 2–1 in the round of 16, after

Artem Dovbyk Artem Oleksandrovych Dovbyk ( ua, Артем Олександрович Довбик; born 21 June 1997) is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ukrainian Premier League club Dnipro-1 and the Ukraine national team. ...

scored the winning goal in the first minute of the second half in extra time. They were then defeated by

in the quarter-final, recording their best finish at a major tournament since 2006. Ukraine drew 1–1 in both games against France in 2022 World Cup qualifying. Ukraine would then qualify for the playoff after breaking the record set by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

for the most consecutive draws in World Cup qualification, with five straight draws. After five years and under the spell of draws in the recent campaign, Shevchenko announced his resignation in August 2021 and was replaced with Oleksandr Petrakov who recently led the Ukraine U-20 team to the World Cup victory. 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 managed to qualify for the playoffs after a 2–0 win over Bosnia and a Finnish loss to France. Ukraine faced

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 Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...

, but ultimately losing 1–0 to

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

in an emotional playoff final at the

Cardiff City Stadium The Cardiff City Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Dinas Caerdydd) is a stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales. It is the home of Cardiff City Football Club and the Wales national football team. Following expansion of the Ninian Stand in July 2014 ...

Stadiums

Most matches are held at Kyiv's

Olimpiyskyi National Sports Complex The Olympic National Sports Complex (also known as Olympic Stadium; uk, Національний спортивний комплекс "Олімпійський", translit=Natsionalnyi sportyvnyi kompleks "Olimpiiskyi") is a multi-use sports ...

. During the Soviet era (before 1991), only three stadiums in Ukraine were used in official games, the Olimpiysky NSC in Kyiv (known then as Republican Stadium), the predecessor of Chornomorets, BSS Central Stadium in Odesa, and the Lokomotiv Stadium in

Simferopol Simferopol () is the second-largest city in the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, and is considered the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. However, ...

. Since May 2022, due to the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, home game matches have been taking place in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

Home venue record

Since Ukraine's first fixture (29 April 1992 vs.

) they have played their home games at 11 different

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

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

Kits and sponsors

Kit history and evolution

On 29 March 2010, Ukraine debuted a new

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...

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. Prior to 5 February 2009 Ukraine wore a

Lotto Lotto may refer to: * Lotto, original, 15th century name of the Italian lottery * Lotto (Milan Metro), a railway station in Milan, Italy * Lotto carpet, a carpet having a lacy arabesque pattern * Lotto Sport Italia, an Italian sports apparel manu ...

kit. In 2009 the official team kit was produced by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

company

which has a contract with the Ukrainian team until 31 December 2016.

Joma Joma () is a Spanish sports clothing manufacturer that currently produces footwear and clothing for football, futsal, handball, basketball, volleyball, running, tennis, and padel. Its headquarters are located in Portillo de Toledo, Spain. Histor ...

manufactured the kits starting from the year 2017 for the match against

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

on 24 March 2017. Logo of Football Federation of Ukraine

Results and fixtures

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

2022

2023

Coaching staff

Currently approved:

Coaching history

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League matches against

(twice) and

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

in September 2022. ''Caps and goals updated as of 27 September 2022, after the match against

.''

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team within the last 12 months. ;Notes *^U21 = Was called up from national U21 squad. *^WD = Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue. *^INJ = It is not part of the current squad due to injury. *^RES = Reserves squad – replaces a member of the squad in case of injury/unavailability. *^RET = Retired from the national team. *^PRE = Preliminary squad/standby.

Previous squads

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

Player records

:''Players in bold are still active with Ukraine.''

Most capped players

Andriy Shevchenko Euro 2012 vs Sweden detail1

Top goalscorers

Most capped goalkeepers

Captains

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place :''* Denotes draws include knock-out matches decided on penalty kicks.''

UEFA European Championship

Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place

UEFA Nations League

Head-to-head record

Ukraine national football team (matches with opponents)

The following table shows Ukraine's all-time international record, correct as of 27 September 2022.

FIFA Ranking history

Notes

References

External links

Official website of the Ukrainian Association of FootballUkrainian page on FIFA's websiteUkrainian page on UEFA's websiteUkrainian Soccer History website

Ukrainian FootballSoccerway ProfileNational Team Roster and Match History
* ttp://ukrainianfootballteam.fmbb.ru/ Media library of Ukrainian National Football Teambr>ELO ratingsList of Ukrainian international players perished in car crashesUkraine Football International websiteComplete List of Teams and Results
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ukraine National Football Team European national association football teams Football teams in Ukraine Ukrainian Association of Football Institutions with the title of National in Ukraine

History

Ukrainian SSR (1925–1990)

First official games (Prokopenko)

Euro 96 qualification (Bazylevych)

1998–2004: near misses

2006 FIFA World Cup

2006–2012

2014–present

Stadiums

Home venue record

Kits and sponsors

Kit history and evolution

Sponsors

Results and fixtures

2022

2023

Coaching staff

Coaching history

Players

Current squad

Recent call-ups

Previous squads

Player records

Most capped players

Top goalscorers

Most capped goalkeepers

Captains

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

UEFA European Championship

UEFA Nations League

Head-to-head record

FIFA Ranking history

See also

Notes

References

External links