Ukraine defeated New Zealand 2:1 at the Canadian Shield tournament.
Kyiv • UNN
The Ukrainian national team defeated New Zealand with a score of 2:1 in the Canadian Shield tournament, with Hutsuliak and Zinchenko scoring for the "blue and yellow." This tournament is a stage in the team's preparation for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
The Ukrainian national football team has completed its performances at the Canadian Shield exhibition tournament, which took place in Canada. In their second match, the "blue-yellows" defeated the New Zealand team, reports UNN.
Details
After the defeat in the first match against the hosts of the competition, the coach of the Ukrainians, Serhiy Rebrov, radically updated the starting lineup, making nine changes at once. In particular, Dynamo midfielder Mykola Mykhailenko made his debut for the country's main team from the first minutes.
The Ukrainians dominated the field in the first half: Hutsuliak and Kabaev had great opportunities to score. However, the teams went to the break with a score of 0:0.
In the second 45-minute period, the Ukrainians continued to put pressure, and in the 54th minute this brought results - Oleksiy Hutsuliak completed a dynamic attack with an accurate shot - 1:0.
However, after 5 minutes, the New Zealanders were able to restore parity: a corner kick ended with a goal by Marko Stamenic - 1:1.
And in the 75th minute, the Ukrainians took the lead again: Oleksandr Zinchenko, who had just come on as a substitute, responded with an accurate shot to a pass from another debutant of the national team, Oleksandr Martynyuk, who had also recently appeared on the field - Rebrov's team won 2:1.
Context
The performance at the Canadian Shield tournament became one of the stages of preparation for the Ukrainian national team for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, which starts in September. The "blue-yellows" will face the teams of France, Iceland and Azerbaijan in Group D.
Let us remind you
In the first match of the Canadian Shield, the Ukrainian national team suffered a defeat from the hosts of the tournament, the Canadian team, with a score of 2:4. At the same time, during the game, Serhiy Rebrov's wards were losing 0:4.
