The Ukrainian national team claimed its first victory in the European qualification for the 2026 World Cup, defeating Iceland 5–3.
The highlight of the match was the return of Ruslan Malinovskyi to the national squad. In the 14th minute, he opened the scoring after an excellent assist from Vitalii Mykolenko. However, Iceland managed to respond: in the 35th minute, Ukrainian goalkeeper Anatolii Trubin conceded after a mistake at the near post.
Ukraine quickly regained control — Oleksii Hutsulyak capitalized on a defensive error, and Malinovskyi struck again with a powerful shot. The teams went into halftime with Ukraine leading 3–1.
In the second half, Iceland equalized as Gudmundsson scored twice. But the closing stages turned into a triumph for Serhii Rebrov’s team: Ivan Kaliuzhnyi fired a brilliant volley into the corner, and Oleh Ocheretko sealed the win, making it 5–3.
Ukraine started the qualifying campaign confidently, showing strong character and an attacking style of play cheered on by thousands of fans.