Former Kyiv «Dynamo» forward Victor Khlus assessed the chances of the Ukrainian national team in the playoff semi-final of the 2026 World Cup qualifier against the Swedish national team.
— Victor Ivanovich, did you follow the draw?
— Of course. And, you know, I somewhat predicted that we would land on Sweden. I don’t know why. Perhaps because I lived there and played for «Elfsborg». I think the draw is fine. The opponent is strong, but not stronger than the Ukrainian national team. Serhiy Rebrov’s team is no inferior.
— Can you compare Swedish football with Ukrainian football?
— For us, football is sport No. 1. In Sweden, it’s somewhere in third place. I’m talking about team sports, not considering skiing. The first, of course, is hockey, the second is bandy. In every even small town, there’s a huge arena for these sports. Football is somewhere in third place. In a 10-million-person country, this hierarchy is noticeable. But everyone has learned to play football. Remember our matches with the same Iceland.
The main thing is that Sweden is a sports nation. They’re all running, shooting, throwing, or jumping there.
— Do you mean Duplantis?
— Him as well. Comparing the Swedish and Ukrainian leagues now makes no sense. The player selection for the national teams in both countries is done through performances in foreign clubs. Among locals, Swedes have a couple of players from AIK and Helsingborg. The rest are legionnaires, as we have, and from quite serious clubs. The selection of players among the Swedes is very decent. Ours, of course, is no worse. The match in March will be very interesting.
— The Swedish national team used to have a pronounced leader. Who can now claim to be the new Ibrahimovic?
— Times have changed. Ibrahimovic, like Dahlin, who conducted the draw and who played against me with Malmö, played a hundred years ago. Then the role of a leader was very different. Now football is a purely team game with strong and star players in every position. I’ll say it again: the rivals are equal in terms of player selection, so I rate the chances in the confrontation 50 to 50.
— If Sweden is overcome, whom would you wish to see as a rival in the playoff final?
— Poland and Albania are also quite an even pair of teams. In my opinion, it’s better if Ukraine faces Albania. We recently played with them in the Nations League, we know this team well. But it’s too early to look that far. First, we need to pass Sweden.
Hennadiy Chekhovsky