Nations League: Hungary–Ukraine — the national team's tournament opener
Kyiv • UNN
On September 25, the Ukraine national team will play Hungary in Budapest in the Nations League. The match will mark Andrea Maldera's official debut.
Ukraine’s national football team begins a new cycle in the 2026/2027 Nations League season with an away match against Hungary, which will take place this Friday, September 25, in Budapest. The Blue and Yellows have already arrived in the Hungarian capital and begun preparations. For the Blue and Yellows’ new head coach, Andrea Maldera, this tournament will be the first official test on the way to achieving the main goal — qualifying for Euro 2028, UNN reports.
Ukraine to start with a match against Hungary: date, time and stadium
Our national team’s first match in the Nations League (League B) will be against Hungary this Friday, September 25. The opening whistle will sound at 21:45 Kyiv time. Our national team will play away — in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, at the Puskás Arena.
Our national team arrived in Budapest on Sunday, September 20, where it began preparations for the Nations League matches.
History of matches against Hungary
After our country declared independence, one of the important issues was the creation of an independent Ukrainian national team. On December 13, 1991, the Football Federation of Ukraine was established. The following year, 1992, the FFU became a member of UEFA and FIFA. It was then that preparations for the national team’s first match began.
After documents granting the FFU provisional membership in the organizations were received from FIFA and UEFA, it became possible to organize the first historic match. The first game was agreed to be played between the national teams of Ukraine and Hungary on April 22, 1992, in Kyiv at the Republican Stadium. However, due to the federation’s financial difficulties, the match was moved closer to the border — to Uzhhorod. Thus, on April 29, 1992, at Avanhard Stadium in Uzhhorod, Ukraine’s national team played its first-ever match.
When it came to forming the squads, a problem arose, as financial constraints made it impossible to call up legionnaires. Interestingly, there were also problems with the kits: the team had to play in an adapted Inter Milan kit, onto which the Ukrainian national team’s logo was sewn. However, the inscriptions were still in Russian. Goalkeeper Ihor Kutyepov took to the field wearing a Dynamo kit.
The match ended in a 3–1 defeat for Ukraine. The national team’s first goalscorer was Chornomorets forward Ivan Hetsko, who pulled one back in the 90th minute.
Ivan Hetsko — author of Ukraine’s first goal
Overall, the national team played Hungary twice. The second match took place in August 1992, when the national team narrowly lost to the Hungarians, 2–1.
Nations League format
This year, the tournament will be played for the last time according to the four-division principle: starting with the next edition, UEFA wants to move to three leagues of 18 teams each, with groups containing not four national teams but six.
Third-placed teams in League B are now safe from relegation: they simply remain in the same division. Finishing last does not mean dropping to League C — play-offs will be held against the teams that finish second there.
As for promotion, it can be achieved either by winning the group or by finishing second. In the latter case, a play-off must be played against one of the four League A teams that finishes either among the two worst third-placed teams or among the two best fourth-placed teams.
It should not be forgotten that the Nations League is a backup option for teams whose qualification campaign for the European Championship is unsuccessful. Teams that fail in qualifying will be able to compete for a play-off spot if they have previously performed successfully in their Nations League groups.
In May, Ukrainian Association of Football President Andriy Shevchenko stated that the task for Ukraine’s new national team head coach, Andrea Maldera, was to qualify for the 2028 European Championship.
"I would like to emphasize the objectives we have set for the new head coach. He has already formed his staff. As always, the objectives are the most ambitious. We want to qualify for the European Championship through the Nations League. This concerns not only the staff and the head coach. We are setting the same objective for the players. I think the players should take more responsibility for this. We will talk to them about it," Shevchenko said.
What is known about Ukraine’s national team squad
Last week, the team's head coach announced the squad of the senior team that will prepare for the Nations League matches.
Goalkeepers: Anatoliy Trubin ("Benfica"), Dmytro Riznyk ("Shakhtar"), Heorhiy Yermakov ("Kharkiv");
Defenders: Illia Zabarnyi ("PSG"), Mykola Matviyenko and Valeriy Bondar ("Shakhtar"), Taras Mykhavko ("Dynamo"), Vitaliy Mykolenko ("Everton"), Eduard Sarapii and Bohdan Mykhailichenko ("Polissya"), Illia Krupskyi ("Kharkiv"), Oleksandr Drambaiev "(LNZ");
Midfielders: Oleh Ocheretko and Yehor Nazaryna ("Shakhtar"), Volodymyr Brazhko and Mykola Shaparenko ("Dynamo"), Heorhii Sudakov ("Benfica").
Forwards: Viktor Tsyhankov ("Ajax"), Oleksandr Zubkov ("AEK"), Oleksandr Nazarenko ("Polissya"), Andriy Yarmolenko and Matviy Ponomarenko ("Dynamo"), Danylo Sikan ("Anderlecht"), Vladyslav Vanat ("Girona"), Roman Yaremchuk ("Olympiacos"), Artem Dovbyk ("Bologna").
Reserves: Oleksandr Romanchuk ("Universitatea"), Oleksandr Pikhalionok ("Dynamo"), Roman Vantukh ("Karpaty"), Dmytro Kryskiv, Oleksandr Karavaiev ("Shakhtar"), Artem Bondarenko ("Al-Ahli"), Ihor Krasnopir and Vladyslav Veleten ("Polissya"), Artem Shabanov ("Kharkiv") and Hennadiy Synchuk ("Montreal").
It should be noted that winger Maksym Khlan of Poland's "Górnik," Artem Stepanov of the Dutch "Utrecht," and midfielder Ivan Varfolomiiev of England's "Lincoln" received their first call-ups.
In addition, Oleksandr Andrievskyi of "Polissya," who last played for the senior team in 2017, is returning to the national team.
Maldera announced the national team squad for the Nations League 16.09.26, 18:00 • 3749 views
However, even before the start of the camp, Ukraine lost three players. Due to injuries, Bologna forward Artem Dovbyk and Polissya Zhytomyr midfielder Oleksandr Andrievskyi withdrew from the Ukraine squad.
Instead of them, Maldera called up two footballers from the reserve list: Dynamo midfielder Oleksandr Pikhalionok and Polissya forward Ihor Krasnopir.
Maldera also additionally called up Polissya winger Vladyslav Veleten, while the team's debutant, Artem Stepanov, suffered an unfortunate injury in a Dutch league match.
It should be noted that, unlike the previous camp, Maldera called up only one right-back (there were none at all at the previous camp) — Illia Krupskyi, who had been ignored by the previous coaching staff. At the same time, the Italian called up three left-backs: Vitaliy Mykolenko of "Everton," Bohdan Mykhailichenko of "Polissya," and debutant Oleksandr Drambaiev of "LNZ."
However, how will the coaching staff act in the event of (God forbid) Krupskyi's injury? Maldera will probably hope for the assistance of left-footed Mykhailichenko on the right flank of the defense. Bohdan occasionally plays on the right flank and performs a hybrid role there.
It is also worth noting the absence from the squad of a natural defensive midfielder who would "clean up" behind the attacking line. Kharkiv defensive midfielder Ivan Kaliuzhnyi was not included in the national team squad, nor was Yehor Yarmoliuk of England's "Brentford."
"We were in contact with him over the last 10 days, as were our medical staffs. He has a chronic problem with his leg. It is not an injury in the classic sense. Perhaps I will use a term that is not entirely correct from a medical standpoint — inflammation. He is very sorry; he really wants to play for the national team. Now Brentford's medical staff will try to treat him, perhaps with some medication, so that he is ready for November. I did not want to force him to feel unwell in the following months. He is not 100% fit. We hope that in November he will be part of our team. I would like to dispel certain rumors: he wanted to come, but his health does not allow us to use him at 100%," Maldera said at a press conference.
However, over the weekend Yarmoliuk played 70 minutes in the match against "Chelsea" in the Premier League, so it is unclear whether this is a conflict between Yarmoliuk and Maldera's coaching staff or whether there are other reasons.
Most likely, in the defensive midfield position we will see either Volodymyr Brazhko of "Dynamo" or Yehor Nazaryna of "Shakhtar."
Moreover, calling up six forwards and five wingers to support them seems strange. The call-up of 36-year-old Andriy Yarmolenko from "Dynamo" looks logical, as Andriy has been playing well for the "blue-and-whites" lately—in particular, he matched Maksym Shatskikh's record—and can also take on the role of a leader, both on the pitch and in the dressing room.
Andriy Mykolayovych will likely get his 20–30 minutes on the pitch and will also have the opportunity to break another record. Yarmolenko currently has 47 goals for the national team, while former national-team striker Andriy Shevchenko has 48 goals.
The call-up of Oleksandr Zubkov also seems unclear, as he has played only one full match since moving to "AEK".
The main question also remains who will take on the main role as the forward. Currently, the top scorers in the UPL among the national-team players are Matviy Ponomarenko of "Dynamo", who, together with the "blue-and-whites", have finally begun to find their form, and Ihor Krasnopir of "Polissya". Both players have scored four goals in the UPL.
Danylo Sikan has also hit excellent form: in 14 matches for Belgian side "Anderlecht", he has scored six goals and helped his team qualify for the Europa League, becoming one of the leading scorers in the qualifying rounds with five goals.
Moreover, one may wonder why Maldera ignored players from "Karpaty", who are currently third in the Ukrainian championship. Forward Nazariy Rusyn, who has scored three goals in the UPL since returning to Ukraine, would not have been out of place, nor would winger Yan Kostenko, who has scored twice in four matches.
During the press conference, a fan asked Maldera: "I am very sad that there is not a single "Karpaty" player on the main list, but there are five players from Kyiv's "Dynamo". "Dynamo" failed in all the qualifying rounds, failed at the start of the championship, and you are calling up five of their players. They are all lacking character, while there is no one from "Karpaty". Why is that?".
Maldera replied: "I choose players regardless of which club they play for. What matters to me is their footballing qualities, their skills, and how I can use them in my system".
Yes, it is true that earlier the backbone of the team from Ukraine consisted only of "Dynamo" and "Shakhtar", but it can be seen that recently players from "Polissya", "Kharkiv", and "LNZ" have been called up to the national team. Therefore, the question of why representatives of "Karpaty", who are currently demonstrating quality football and occupy a high position in the table, were ignored remains open.
Where to watch, favourite
The match can be watched on the MEGOGO OTT platform. It will also be available free of charge on the "MEGOGO SPORT" television channel via terrestrial T2 and cable networks.
Bookmakers consider Hungary the favourite for the upcoming match. Bets on the hosts' victory are accepted at odds of 2.25. A draw is priced at 3.25. A Ukrainian victory is also priced at 3.25.