Ukrainian SSR (1924–1990) The national team was formed in the early 1990s and was recognized internationally soon thereafter. Ukraine, under the
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, previously had a national team in 1924–1935 just like the
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. The national team included the players Andriy Ponomarenko,
Ivan Privalov,
Volodymyr Fomin, H. Syrota,
Mykola Fomin, Anatoliy Lisnyi, Oleksandr Shatokha (goalkeeper), Dmytro Kyryllov, Dmytro Starusev, Serhiy Kopeiko, Petro Parovyshnykov (first team); Valentyn Prokofyev, Fedir Tyutchev, H. Yakubovskyi, Ivan Vladymyrskyi, Serafim Moskvin (goalkeeper), Kazymyr Piontkovskyi, Mykhailo Pashuta, Vasiliy Yepishin, Adam Bem, K. Us, Volodymyr Prasolov (second 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 city team took place in Moscow; at the All-Soviet tournament, Ukraine reached the final where it lost to Moscow 1–0, after defeating
Belarus and
Transcaucasus. In 1929, Ukraine beat
Lower Austria in an exhibition match in
Kharkiv 4–1, and played in another Soviet tournament. Ukraine lost to Transcaucasus 3–0.
Official formation Before 1991, Ukrainian players were represented by the
Soviet Union national team. After the collapse of the
USSR in 1991,
Russia took its place in the qualifying tournament for the 1994 World Cup. The Ukraine national team did not enter the tournament as it was not yet admitted to FIFA. Meanwhile, some of the best Ukrainian players of the 1990s (including
Andrei Kanchelskis,
Viktor Onopko,
Sergei Yuran,
Yuriy Nikiforov,
Ilya Tsymbalar and
Oleg Salenko) chose to play for Russia. At the time,
Vyacheslav Koloskov, a top official from the former Soviet Union and later
Russia, served as a vice-president of
UEFA from 1980–1996 representing the Soviet Union and later the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). was Head Coach of the National Team in 1979 and between 2001 and 2002. The Soviet Union's five-year
UEFA coefficient (earned in part by Ukrainian players), was transferred to the Russian national team. As a result, a crisis was created for both the national team and the
domestic league. Controversy developed because the Ukrainian football league lacked adequate funding for their teams , the first official manager of the national team Ukraine played their first match on 29 April 1992 against Hungary in
Uzhhorod at the
Avanhard Stadium, losing 3–1 with the sole Ukrainian goal scored by
Ivan Hetsko. With the creation of a "phantom" (transitional)
CIS team in place of the
Soviet Union playing against
England in Moscow in preparation for the
UEFA Euro 1992. That year the Ukrainian team lost some notable players to the Soviet Union team. Following several losses to Hungary and a draw to the United States, Prokopenko resigned and the last season game was led by his assistants
Mykola Pavlov and
Leonid Tkachenko.
Euro 1996 qualification (Bazylevych) Ukraine appointed head coach,
Oleh Bazylevych, who made his debut with the national team in the spring of 1993 in
Odesa during a friendly game against
Israel, resulting in a 1–1 draw. Less than one month later, Ukraine finally won in
Vilnius against Lithuania. During that summer they lost 3–1 to Croatia; Ukraine was later seeded in
Group 4 of the
UEFA Euro 1996 qualification. Ukraine was defeated by Israel in March 1994, and drew Bulgaria and the United Arab Emirates. On 7 September 1994, the national team started its first official qualification campaign with a home loss 2–0 to Lithuania. Following the defeat and a weak performances in preceding friendlies, Bazylevych was fired and the tour to South Korea was led by the Bazylevych assistants
Pavlov and
Muntyan. Soon thereafter the Federation signed a contract with
Valeriy Lobanovsky. On 24 September, the
Football Federation of Ukraine appointed
Yozhef Sabo as an acting manager until the end of the year after Lobanovsky signed a contract with
Kuwait. Under Sabo's management, the team's next home game against
Slovenia ended goalless and they eventually beat Estonia 3–0, gaining their first win in an official competitive game. At the beginning of the year the Football Federation confirmed
Anatoliy Konkov as the new head coach on 5 January 1995. , two spells in charge of the Ukraine national team Under coach Konkov, the team started with away losses of 4–0 to Croatia and 3–0 to Italy. Following the losses, there was a three-game winning streak including a home victory against Croatia. A subsequent loss to Slovenia had the team finishing in fourth place in its first qualification campaign behind Lithuania.
1998–2004: near misses Following Konkov's departure in 1996, the Federation appointed Sabo as head coach. Separately, there was a preliminary agreement with Lobanovsky to coach following his contract end with Kuwait. Ukraine participated in
1998 World Cup qualification, where the team was drawn into
Group 9. Ukraine took second place, behind
Germany and ahead of
Portugal, but was defeated in a play-off stage 3–1 on aggregate by
Croatia. The qualification campaign became notable as the beginning of the international career of
Shevchenko as well as providing more play time for players such as
Oleksandr Shovkovsky and
Serhiy Rebrov. In the
UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying, Ukraine, assigned in
Group 4, finished above
Russia, thanks to an important draw in
Moscow and a home victory. However, they still only qualified for the playoff behind the
French side despite being undefeated. Ukraine then fell to
Slovenia 3–2 on aggregate. Following the qualification campaign, the Federation finally signed a contract with
Valery Lobanovsky, ending Sabo's tenure as a head coach. The
2002 FIFA World Cup qualification saw Ukraine in
Group 5. With Lobanovsky as a head coach, there were expectations of the first qualification to the finals. Yet, Ukraine suffered a home loss to
Poland in their opening match, and many draws resulted in Ukraine qualifying for the playoff, losing to Germany, 5–2 on aggregate. Under public pressure, particularly the
Higher League, head coaches argued for the removal of Lobanovsky and the Federation decided not to renew its contract with Lobanovsky, instead moving him to
Dynamo Kyiv. In the
UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying, Ukraine with the new head coach
Leonid Buryak, was assigned into
Group 6, with
Spain and
Greece. Ukraine failed to qualify.
2006 World Cup After the
Euro 2004 qualifying match, Ukraine appointed
Oleg Blokhin as the national team's head coach. Placed in
Group 2, Ukraine went on to qualify as a group winner for their first-ever
FIFA World Cup on 3 September 2005, after drawing 1–1 against
Georgia in
Tbilisi (and ahead of Turkey), playing Denmark and their last campaign against rivals Greece (among others). This was the first successful qualification campaign for Ukraine despite a poor home turf performance. In the
2006 World Cup, Ukraine was in
Group H with
Spain,
Tunisia and
Saudi Arabia. After losing 4–0 in the first match against Spain, the Ukrainians won the next two matches to face
Switzerland in round 16. Drawing goalless, Ukraine took Switzerland to a penalty shoot-out where two saves from
Oleksandr Shovkovsky secured a positive outcome for his side despite the first kick miss by
Andriy Shevchenko. Switzerland which did not lose or yield a single goal was sent home early with Ukraine advancing to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, Ukraine, facing
Italy, was defeated with two second half two goals from
Luca Toni, securing a comfortable 3–0 win for the future 2006 World Cup champions.
2006–2012 After the World Cup, Ukraine was placed in
UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group B, along with
Italy and
France; Ukraine had also performed poorly against
Scotland,
Georgia and
Lithuania, ultimately finishing in fourth place. Due to the bleak performance of the national team
Oleg Blokhin resigned and surprisingly signed with the recently established
FC Moscow. With another Soviet football star player
Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko as the new head coach,
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification saw Ukraine in
Group 6, drawing
Croatia and winning against
England, sending Ukraine to the playoff. Greece, which had been eliminated by Ukraine in the qualifiers four years earlier, would eventually get revenge. Following the failure to qualify, the Federation decided not to renew the contract with Mykhaylychenko. As co-hosts, Ukraine qualified automatically for
Euro 2012, For the next several games in 2010 and 2011 the national team was led by caretaker
Yuriy Kalitvintsev who starred for Ukraine back in its first qualification campaign for the Euro 1996. On 21 April 2011, Blokhin was again appointed head coach of the Ukraine national team signing a four-year contract. With Blokhin at helm in their opening game against
Sweden, Ukraine won 2–1 in Kyiv. In Donetsk, Ukraine was eliminated after a 2–0 loss to France and a 1–0 defeat to England.
2014–present Drawn into
UEFA Group H for
2014 World Cup qualification, Ukraine played against France, beating France at home 2–0 but suffered a 3–0 loss away. Blokhin stepped down due to health concerns in the autumn of 2012 soon after the first home game against
England and was replaced by
Andriy Bal and later
Oleksandr Zavarov. In 2012, the Federation appointed
Mykhailo Fomenko as a head coach . Even though the team under Fomenko did not manage to qualify for the World Cup, the Federation decided to retain his services until the end of 2015. During ongoing
conflicts with Russian, Ukraine in
Euro 2016 qualifying was drawn against Spain,
Slovakia, Belarus,
Macedonia and
Luxembourg. Despite having won all matches except those against Spain and Slovakia, Ukraine finished third. They defeated
Slovenia in the playoff, marking their first qualification for a major tournament through the playoffs. Ukraine lost all three games at Euro 2016 without scoring a goal. Following the Euro 2016, Fomenko was replaced with
Andriy Shevchenko as head coach (who was his assistant during the Euro finals). Seeded in the
UEFA Group I, Ukraine started with a home draw to
Iceland in 2018 World Cup qualifying and an away draw to
Turkey but lost to Croatia failing to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since
UEFA Euro 2004. In the
inaugural UEFA Nations League, Ukraine was drawn with the
Czech Republic and Slovakia in League B. They beat the Czech Republic 2–1 away and Slovakia 1–0 at home, before earning a promotion to League A with a 1–0 home win to the Czech Republic. Ukraine was placed in a group with Euro 2016 champions
Portugal as well as
Serbia. As the
COVID-19 crisis in
Ukraine worsened, eight players from the starting squad tested positive (including one positive
SARS-CoV-2 test upon arrival to
Lucerne), as a result the entire delegation was put into quarantine by the Department of Health of the
Canton of Lucerne. Their game against Switzerland away was subsequently cancelled. UEFA decided that the match result would be 3–0 in favour of Switzerland and the
CAS subsequently upheld the result, meaning that Ukraine had been officially relegated after just one year in League A. Ukraine qualified for the knockout stages in the European Championship as one of the best third-placed teams for the first time in the 2020 tournament, postponed to 2021 due to
COVID-19. They beat Sweden 2–1 in the round of 16,and were then defeated by England in the quarter-final, recording their best finish at a major tournament since 2006. In August 2021, Shevchenko was replaced with
Oleksandr Petrakov. In the
2022 World Cup qualifying rounds, Ukraine drew 1–1 in both games against France. Ukraine would qualify for the playoff after breaking the record set by
Australia for the most consecutive draws in World Cup qualification, with five straight draws. Ukraine eventually picked up a much-needed victory over Finland, ending their run of draws and giving them a two-point lead over Bosnia and a three-point lead over Finland. However, both Bosnia and Finland had a game in hand over Ukraine, who qualified for the playoffs after a 2–0 win over Bosnia and a Finnish loss to France. Ukraine faced
Scotland in the Group A playoff semifinals, postponed in March 2022 to June after
Russia invaded the country in February, winning 3–1 at
Hampden Park, but ultimately losing 1–0 to
Wales in an emotional playoff final at the
Cardiff City Stadium. Ukraine, who were
relegated to League B in the
2nd Nations League due to their last-place finish (2 wins to 4 losses), failed to gain promotion to League A in the following Nations League, finishing 2nd in their group in the
3rd Nations League, beaten by Scotland against whom they lost in
Glasgow in contrast to the play-off semi-final (0–3) and unable to beat the
Tartan Army on neutral ground in the return leg (0–0). In the
qualifiers for the Euro 2024, Ukraine finished third in their highly competitive group, with four wins, two draws and two defeats. However, Italy finished ahead of the
Zbirna only thanks to a favourable head-to-head record despite having the same number of points, while in the decisive Ukraine/Italy match (0–0) on neutral ground in
Leverkusen, Germany, a refereeing error was made to the Ukrainians' disadvantage with a penalty not whistled for an Italian foul at the end of match. Eligible for the play-offs as the best non-group winner, Ukraine initially defeated
Bosnia 2–1 away in the
semi-finals of the Path B play-offs on March 21, 2024. Five days later, on March 26, 2024, Ukraine qualified for
Euro 2024 in Germany, beating Iceland 2–1 in the
play-off final at the
Wrocław Stadium in
Poland. In this decisive final, as in the semi-final against Bosnia, Ukraine conceded the opening goal on each occasion and managed to turn the match around, winning by a narrow margin at the very end. Having been drawn into Group E with Romania, Belgium and Slovakia, Ukraine finished level with all the other teams in the group on four points, but were knocked out on goal difference. In the
2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Ukraine was drawn in
Group D alongside
France,
Iceland, and
Azerbaijan. The campaign began with a 2–0 defeat to France and a 1–1 draw with Azerbaijan, before a 5–3 away victory over Iceland, with goals scored by
Ruslan Malinovskyi,
Oleksiy Hutsulyak,
Ivan Kalyuzhnyi, and
Oleh Ocheretko. A 2–1 home win against Azerbaijan was followed by a 4–0 defeat in the reverse fixture against France in
Paris. Ukraine finished second place in the group with 10 points after a 2–0 victory over Iceland in Warsaw, thereby qualifying
for the play-offs. On 26 March 2026, Ukraine faced
Sweden in the
play-off semi-final in
Valencia, Spain. Despite a late goal from
Matvii Ponomarenko in the 90th minute, a
hat-trick by
Viktor Gyökeres resulted in a 3–1 defeat, ending Ukraine’s hopes of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. On 22 April, the
Ukrainian Association of Football announced that head coach
Serhiy Rebrov had stepped down by mutual agreement. ==Stadiums==