Ukraine has learned its potential group opponents for the 2026 FIFA World Cup — the Netherlands, Japan and Tunisia. In an exclusive comment to Suspilne Sport, UAF president Andriy Shevchenko stressed that the team’s main goal is first to get through the qualification play-offs.
The Ukrainian national football team has discovered its potential opponents in the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. If Ukraine qualifies, the “blue-and-yellow” will face the Netherlands, Japan and Tunisia.
To reach the World Cup, Ukraine must first pass the qualification play-offs: they will play Sweden in the semi-final, and if successful, face the winner of Poland vs Albania in the final.
Following the draw, UAF president Andriy Shevchenko, who attended the ceremony in Washington, told Suspilne Sport that the team’s top priority is winning the play-offs. He described the group-stage opponents as “strong”, but emphasised that it is too early to think about them.
“The main expectation is to get from the play-offs into the World Cup. We need to prepare for these matches. The group — of course, all the teams are strong. But the main task is to qualify for the World Cup,” Shevchenko said.
He added that, for now, the identity of the group opponents is not important: “The first task is to get here. Then we’ll prepare, we understand what these teams are — they’re good, very good, all of them know how to play football. But the main task is to qualify for the World Cup.”
Shevchenko also emphasized the difficulty of the upcoming play-offs: “We have a very tough play-off, we need to prepare. Sweden are a very good team with strong players. Their attacking group is very powerful, but I think if we set up properly, we have a good chance to qualify.”
The 2026 World Cup play-offs will include the top two teams from each qualifying group as well as the eight best third-placed teams. The 2026 FIFA World Cup will take place from 11 June to 19 July.