Tomorrow, September 5, in Wrocław, Poland, the Ukrainian national team will begin the qualifying cycle for the World Cup for the eighth time in history.
Ukrainian National TeamIn the previous 7 instances, Ukraine managed to qualify for the World Cup only once, was eliminated in the playoffs five times, and once at the group stage.
The Ukrainian national team in World Cup qualifiers
- WC-1998: finished second in the group, lost in the playoffs to the Croatian national team
- WC-2002: finished second in the group, lost in the playoffs to the German national team
- WC-2006: qualified for the World Cup by finishing first in the group
- WC-2010: finished second in the group, lost in the playoffs to the Greek national team
- WC-2014: finished second in the group, lost in the playoffs to the French national team
- WC-2018: finished third in the group
- WC-2022: finished second in the group, lost to Wales in the playoffs
Interestingly, the last three qualifying cycles for the World Cup have started for the Ukrainian national team with a draw of 1:1 (this score was recorded in 4 out of 7 opening matches).
In all seven first matches of the qualifiers, the Ukrainian national team scored one goal.
First matches of the Ukrainian national team in World Cup qualifying cycles
- WC-1998: Northern Ireland — Ukraine — 0:1
- WC-2002: Ukraine — Poland — 1:3
- WC-2006: Denmark — Ukraine — 1:1
- WC-2010: Ukraine — Belarus — 1:0
- WC-2014: England — Ukraine — 1:1
- WC-2018: Ukraine — Iceland — 1:1
- WC-2022: France — Ukraine — 1:1
