Former coach of «Karpaty», «Chornomorets», «Lviv», and LNZ Oleh Dulub shared his thoughts on the upcoming World Cup 2026 qualifying playoffs for the Ukrainian national team.
— We are starting the playoffs against the Swedes. As is known, Sweden failed this qualification. How high are Ukraine’s chances to get past them?
— There are always chances to get past Sweden. However, we need to understand that there are almost half a year between the matches — it’s a long period because anything can happen in half a year. Secondly, for me, there’s a parallel here with the Iceland national team: the team that was there at the beginning of September and in the last round was very different — and only two months passed. The same applies to Sweden.
I wouldn’t say they are an easy opponent just because they failed to qualify. They failed it, but they are still in the playoffs. And Sweden is always a serious opponent.
— What should Rebrov’s team, the Ukrainian national team, pay attention to first in the Swedes?
— When the national team played their last match, it was a real team — with real football that brought emotions. And we need to consider the fact that if we get past the Swedes, we potentially face the Poles. Two major negatives are that these matches are effectively away games. And here, the psychological aspect and when the team plays as one unit — what we saw against Iceland — will come to the forefront. This is the key factor.
— So, nominally we play two matches at home, and there is a good chance the Poles will get past Albania. Should Ukraine play these matches in Poland, where we usually played the qualifiers?
— It’s a difficult question. I don’t think we need to look too far ahead. When we talked about the psychological aspect, it only involves one match. The first game with Sweden is the most important; everything else comes later. But of course, in Poland, the Poles will have the advantage.
— If we take this playoff path as a whole, what are Ukraine’s chances of reaching the World Cup?
— It’s hard to evaluate comprehensively, but the chances are good. Considering the energy, like in the last match with Iceland, when the team played as one. That’s why we love football — for the emotions. I think the team gave all of Ukraine emotions in the last match.
— So, is our key to success this emotional charge, character?
— Not emotional, rather the psychological component when the team is a single entity, when it competes for achieving the final result. Not just to play football, but with the result being the priority. Thanks to this — uniting the team around the common idea of getting to the World Cup.