The Ukrainian national team continues its pursuit of a ticket to the 2026 World Cup, but matches against weaker opponents remain far from easy. In Kraków, Serhiy Rebrov’s team managed only a hard-fought win over Azerbaijan, who once again made Ukrainian fans nervous.
After the frustrating 1-1 draw in Baku, expectations were high for a more confident performance, but things didn’t go as planned. Despite dominating possession, Ukraine opened the scoring only in the 30th minute — Malinovskyi delivered a sharp free kick from the left, and Hutsulyak headed it into the net from close range. Instead of celebrating, teammates rushed to check if the scorer was all right after such a fierce hit.
Before halftime, however, Ukraine allowed the opponent to equalize again. In stoppage time, a defensive error led to a counterattack finished by Ahundzade — 1-1. Painful memories of the Baku draw came flooding back.
In the second half, Rebrov’s side regained control of the game. In the 64th minute, Voloshyn broke through on the right flank, crossed to Hutsulyak, who in a falling motion left the ball for Malinovskyi — and he fired it into the top corner. Ukraine took the lead again.
The final minutes were tense: Ukraine tried to hold on to the score, surviving a few dangerous counterattacks. In stoppage time, Voloshyn thought he had scored his debut goal for the national team, but VAR ruled it out after detecting a foul by Bondarenko earlier in the build-up.
Despite the narrow margin, Ukraine secured the three points. In the next round, the team will travel to France, while Azerbaijan will host Iceland.