Former goalkeeper of Kyiv’s Dynamo, Vladimir Tsytkin, commented on the results of the draw for the qualification cycle of the 2026 World Cup, where the Ukrainian national team was placed in a group with the winner of the quarterfinals of the Nations League 2024/25 France - Croatia, as well as Iceland and Azerbaijan.
Vladimir Tsytkin“In my opinion, the results of the draw are acceptable, as the Ukrainians could have ended up in a stronger group. And regardless of who will be the third opponent: the French or the Croats, I am convinced that our team will fight for the first place.
I believe that it will benefit the Ukrainian national team that the competition will continue in the fall of next year, and not in the spring after the winter break.
I have high hopes for our guys also because the French and the Croats are still going through a difficult period of generational change, while the composition of the Ukrainians has already stabilized, and coach Sergey Rebrov has determined who can be relied upon in critical moments.
The main thing now is to approach the new challenges in fighting condition, without injuries. I hope that by then our legionnaires Mykhailo Mudryk, Viktor Tsyhankov, Artem Dovbik, Roman Yaremchuk will have regular playing practice at the club level. The Ukrainian national team will only benefit from this,” said Tsytkin.
