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Ukraine’s provisional squad for the 2026 World Cup is beginning to take shape as they prepare for the play-off semi-final clash against Sweden, followed by a potential final against either Poland or Albania.

Having finished second in their qualification group behind France, Ukraine now face a challenging path through the play-offs in their bid to secure a spot at the 2026 World Cup.

A World Cup berth is at stake. While Sweden appear to be recovering from a difficult period, their squad features players from Europe’s top five leagues, making them a dangerous opponent. Meanwhile, a final showdown with either Poland or Albania promises to be a tough, winner-takes-all encounter.

Ukraine’s only previous World Cup appearance came in 2006 under the leadership of the iconic Andriy Shevchenko. This time, Serhiy Rebrov’s team will rely more on collective strength than individual brilliance.

Four-time Premier League champion Oleksandr Zinchenko suffered an ACL injury while playing for Ajax in February, putting his World Cup hopes in doubt. Similarly, Roma striker Artem Dovbyk’s hamstring injury is expected to keep him sidelined for a comparable duration.

Nonetheless, seasoned internationals Ruslan Malinovskiy and Roman Yaremchuk continue to perform strongly, and the squad features an encouraging mix of emerging talent.

Brentford’s 22-year-old midfielder Yehor Yarmolyuk has secured a regular starting role in the Premier League this season, while 23-year-old Ilia Zabarnyi has been competing for playing time at Paris Saint-Germain following his transfer from Bournemouth last year.

First-choice goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin grabbed headlines when he scored a decisive goal against Real Madrid to help Benfica advance to the Champions League knockout rounds, though the Portuguese side were later eliminated by the same opponents.

Goalkeepers:

Ruslan Nescheret (Dynamo Kyiv)
Anatoliy Trubin (Benfica)
Dmytro Riznyk (Shakhtar Donetsk)

Defenders:

Yukhym Konoplya (Shakhtar Donetsk)
Bohdan Mykhaylichenko (Polissya Zhytomyr)
Oleksandr Svatok (Austin FC)
Valeriy Bondar (Shakhtar Donetsk)
Ilia Zabarnyi (PSG)
Vitaliy Mykolenko (Everton)
Oleksandr Tymchyk (Dynamo Kyiv)
Eduard Sarapiy (Polissya Zhytomyr)
Borys Krushynskyi (Polissya Zhytomyr)

Midfielders:

Ivan Kalyuzhnyi (Metalist Kharkiv)
Ruslan Malinovskiy (Genoa)
Mykola Shaparenko (Dynamo Kyiv)
Oleksiy Hutsulyak (Polissya Zhytomyr)
Oleh Ocheretko (Shakhtar Donetsk)
Viktor Tsyhankov (Girona)
Heorhiy Sudakov (Benfica)
Yehor Yarmolyuk (Brentford)
Nazar Voloshyn (Dynamo Kyiv)
Oleksandr Zubkov (Trabzonspor)
Oleksandr Pikhalyonok (Dynamo Kyiv)

Forwards:

Vladyslav Vanat (Girona)
Roman Yaremchuk (Lyon)
Matviy Ponomarenko (Dynamo Kyiv)

Upcoming fixtures:

March 26, 2026: Ukraine vs Sweden, Valencia, Spain

March 31, 2026: Ukraine vs Poland/Albania, Valencia, Spain

Recent results:

November 16, 2025: Ukraine 2-0 Iceland, Warsaw, Poland

November 13, 2025: France 4-0 Ukraine, Paris, France

October 13, 2025: Ukraine 2-1 Azerbaijan, Krakow, Poland

October 10, 2025: Iceland 3-5 Ukraine, Reykjavik, Iceland

September 9, 2025: Azerbaijan 1-1 Ukraine, Baku, Azerbaijan

September 5, 2025: Ukraine 0-2 France, Wroclaw, Poland

Serhiy Rebrov remains a revered figure in Ukrainian football. The 51-year-old, who once formed a prolific strike partnership with Andriy Shevchenko at Dynamo Kyiv in the 1990s, still holds the record as the top scorer in the league’s history.

Rebrov also had spells in the Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United, and successfully guided Ukraine to qualify for Euro 2024 amid challenging circumstances back home.

This current squad features several exciting young prospects, notably Benfica’s Heorhiy Sudakov and Brentford’s Yehor Yarmolyuk. However, given the individual quality across European sides, Ukraine will need to function as a cohesive unit to reach the World Cup.

Captain Mykola Matviyenko’s absence in defence will be deeply felt, placing extra responsibility on his central defensive partner, Ilia Zabarnyi. Though he hasn’t been a regular starter for PSG this season, Zabarnyi has already earned 55 international caps at just 23 years of age, underlining his importance to the national setup.