Victory of the national team
Sunday, May 31, 2026
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On May 31, the Ukraine national team played an international friendly against Poland in Wrocław
It was the first match for the national team under new head coach Andrea Maldera. Three Shakhtar players were included in the starting line-up for the Blue-and-Yellows: defender Mykola Matviienko and midfielders Yehor Nazaryna and Oleh Ocheretko.
The opening stages of the match were played at a modest tempo, with both teams focused mainly on positional play and trying to establish control of possession. The hosts managed this more effectively and, midway through the first half, created a series of dangerous chances: Trubin denied Petuszewski, while efforts from Zieliński and Szymański went wide. However, the final ten minutes of the half belonged to Ukraine, who made the most of their opportunities. In the 34th minute, Tsyhankov won possession and found Yaremchuk on the edge of the penalty area, with the forward firing into the right corner from distance to make it 0-1. Soon afterwards, Nazaryna also came close to scoring, narrowly missing the left post with a strike from outside the box. Then, in the 44th minute, the visitors doubled their lead when Yarmolenko converted Tsyhankov’s low cross – 0-2.
Another Shakhtar player, defender Valerii Bondar, came on at half-time. Poland looked more proactive in the second half, but created very few genuine goalscoring opportunities in front of the Blue-and-Yellows’ goal. Only once did Trubin come to the visitors’ rescue, saving Świderski’s effort from the centre of the penalty area. On another occasion, Żukowski headed over the crossbar after meeting a cross from a teammate. Ukraine had a chance to make the scoreline more emphatic towards the end of the match when Bondar met Nazarenko’s cross at the far post, but his effort was blocked by the goalkeeper. Shakhtar midfielder Artem Bondarenko came on for the closing minutes, but the score remained unchanged until the final whistle.
2-0 – Ukraine secured a victory over Poland in their debut friendly match under the guidance of Andrea Maldera.
Ukraine will play another friendly against Denmark on June 7. The match at the Odense Stadium kicks off at 19:30 Kyiv time.
The opening stages of the match were played at a modest tempo, with both teams focused mainly on positional play and trying to establish control of possession. The hosts managed this more effectively and, midway through the first half, created a series of dangerous chances: Trubin denied Petuszewski, while efforts from Zieliński and Szymański went wide. However, the final ten minutes of the half belonged to Ukraine, who made the most of their opportunities. In the 34th minute, Tsyhankov won possession and found Yaremchuk on the edge of the penalty area, with the forward firing into the right corner from distance to make it 0-1. Soon afterwards, Nazaryna also came close to scoring, narrowly missing the left post with a strike from outside the box. Then, in the 44th minute, the visitors doubled their lead when Yarmolenko converted Tsyhankov’s low cross – 0-2.
Another Shakhtar player, defender Valerii Bondar, came on at half-time. Poland looked more proactive in the second half, but created very few genuine goalscoring opportunities in front of the Blue-and-Yellows’ goal. Only once did Trubin come to the visitors’ rescue, saving Świderski’s effort from the centre of the penalty area. On another occasion, Żukowski headed over the crossbar after meeting a cross from a teammate. Ukraine had a chance to make the scoreline more emphatic towards the end of the match when Bondar met Nazarenko’s cross at the far post, but his effort was blocked by the goalkeeper. Shakhtar midfielder Artem Bondarenko came on for the closing minutes, but the score remained unchanged until the final whistle.
2-0 – Ukraine secured a victory over Poland in their debut friendly match under the guidance of Andrea Maldera.
Ukraine will play another friendly against Denmark on June 7. The match at the Odense Stadium kicks off at 19:30 Kyiv time.
