Ukraine national football team

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Ukraine

Nickname(s)	Zhovto-Blakytni ("the Yellow-Blues")
Association	Football Federation of Ukraine
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Oleksiy Mykhaylichenko
Captain	Andriy Shevchenko
Most caps	Andriy Shevchenko (85)
Top scorer	Andriy Shevchenko (39)
Home stadium	Olympic Stadium, Kyiv
FIFA code	UKR
FIFA ranking	20
Highest FIFA ranking	11 (February 2007)
Lowest FIFA ranking	132 (September 1993)
Elo ranking	28
Highest Elo ranking	18 (March 2007)
Lowest Elo ranking	67 (March 1995)
Home colours Away colours
First international
Ukraine 1 - 3 Hungary (Uzhhorod, Ukraine; 29 April 1992)
Biggest win
Ukraine 6 - 0 Azerbaijan (Kyiv, Ukraine; 15 August 2006)
Biggest defeat
Croatia 4 - 0 Ukraine (Zagreb, Croatia; 25 March 1995) Spain 4 - 0 Ukraine (Leipzig, Germany; 14 June 2006)
World Cup
Appearances	1 (First in 2006)
Best result	Quarter-finals, 2006

The Ukraine national football team is the national football team of Ukraine and is controlled by the Football Federation of Ukraine. After the split of the Soviet Union, they played their first match against Hungary on April 29, 1992.

Prior to the split, Ukrainian players represented the USSR national football team. Some of the best Ukrainian players of the beginning of the 1990s (including Andrei Kanchelskis, Viktor Onopko, Sergei Yuran and Oleg Salenko) chose to play for Russia as it was named the official successor of the USSR, while Ukraine did not participate in major international competitions until 1994. As a result a crisis was created for both the national team and the domestic league. Problems were further compounded when Soviet Union's five-year UEFA coefficients, despite being earned in part by Ukrainian players (for example, in the final of the last successful event, Euro-88, 7 out of starting 11 players were Ukrainians^[1]), were transferred directly to the direct descendant of the Soviet national football team - the Russian national football team.

In the following years, the Ukrainian team improved, showcasing talents like Andriy Shevchenko, Anatoliy Tymoschuk and Serhiy Rebrov. However, Ukraine failed to qualify for any major intercontinental tournament prior to 2005, three times failing at the last qualifying stage, the playoffs, after finishing second in their qualifying groups. It lost to Croatia, failing to get to the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Slovenia prevented Ukraine from going to Euro 2000, and Germany stopped them prior to the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

After an unsuccessful Euro 2004 qualification campaign, Ukraine appointed Oleg Blokhin as the national team's head coach. Despite initial resentment to his appointment due to his previous poor coaching record and calls for a foreign coach, Ukraine went on to qualify for their first-ever FIFA World Cup on September 3, 2005, by drawing with Georgia, 1:1, in T'bilisi. In their first World Cup (2006 FIFA World Cup), they were in the group H together with Spain, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. After being crashed in the first match by Spain 0 - 4, Ukraine beaten other two opponents to reach the knock-out stage. In the round of 16, Ukraine played the winner of group G Switzerland, which they beat on penalties reaching the quarter-final of the tournament before losing 3:0 to eventual champions Italy.

Contents 1 Stadiums 2 2006 FIFA World Cup 3 Forthcoming fixtures 4 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification 4.1 Group 6 5 Recent results 6 World Cup record 7 European Championship record 8 Qualifying campaigns 9 Former famous players 10 Player records 10.1 Most capped Ukraine players 10.2 Top Ukraine goalscorers 10.3 Ukraine captains 11 Ukraine managers 12 Current players 12.1 Previous squads 13 Home venues record 14 World rankings 15 See also 16 Notes 17 External links

[edit] Stadiums

The most important matches of the Ukrainian national team are held in Kyiv´s Olimpiysky National Sports Complex, the previous home of Dynamo Kyiv (which presently only uses the stadium for major European matches). The alternative stadiums include: Ukraina (Lviv), Meteor (Dnipropetrovsk), Chornomorets (Odessa), Metalist (Kharkiv), and many others. However as new infrastructure and stadiums are built (especially in preparation for Euro 2012), other venues will include stadiums in the cities of Lviv, Donetsk, Odessa, among others.

[edit] 2006 FIFA World Cup

In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, their first major tournament since splitting from the USSR, Ukraine were drawn in Group H along with Spain, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.

Ukraine got off to a poor start with a 4:0 defeat against Spain, but recovered to beat Saudi Arabia 4:0 in a then-national record victory. In their last group match, a lackluster performance by Ukraine saw them hold on to second place, as they beat Tunisia 1:0 with a penalty kick scored by Andriy Shevchenko.

In the second round, Ukraine beat Switzerland on penalties (3:0) when the match ended 0:0 after extra-time. In the quarter-finals, Ukraine lost 3:0 to Italy to end their first World Cup campaign.

[edit] Forthcoming fixtures

Date	Tournament	Location	Opponent
1 April 2009	World Cup Qualifier 2010	London	England
6 June 2009	World Cup Qualifier 2010	Zagreb	Croatia
10 June 2009	World Cup Qualifier 2010		Kazakhstan
5 September 2009	World Cup Qualifier 2010		Andorra
9 September 2009	World Cup Qualifier 2010	Minsk	Belarus
10 October 2009	World Cup Qualifier 2010	Kharkiv	England
14 October 2009	World Cup Qualifier 2010	Andorra la Vella	Andorra

[edit] 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

[edit] Group 6

See also: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 6 details

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  England 4 4 0 0 14 3 +11 12  Croatia 4 2 1 1 8 4 +4 7  Ukraine 3 2 1 0 4 1 +3 7  Belarus 3 1 0 2 4 5 −1 3  Kazakhstan 4 1 0 3 5 11 −6 3  Andorra 4 0 0 4 1 12 −11 0

Andorra  – 1 – 3 1 Apr 0 – 2 9 Sep 14 Oct Belarus  6 Jun – 12 Aug 1 – 3 10 Oct 9 Sep Croatia  4 – 0 5 Sep – 1 – 4 3 – 0 6 Jun England  10 Jun 14 Oct 9 Sep – 5 – 1 1 Apr Kazakhstan  3 – 0 1 Apr 14 Oct 6 Jun – 1 – 3 Ukraine  5 Sep 1 – 0 0 – 0 10 Oct 10 Jun –

[edit] Recent results

Date	Tournament	Location	Opponent	Result	Scorers
19 November 2008	Friendly	Dnipropetrovsk	Norway	Win 1:0	Seleznyov 26' (pen)
11 October 2008	World Cup Qualifier 2010	Kharkiv	Croatia	Drew 0:0
10 September 2008	World Cup Qualifier 2010	Almaty	Kazakhstan	Won 1:3	Ostapenko 68' - Nazarenko 45', 80', Shevchenko 53'
6 September 2008	World Cup Qualifier 2010	Lviv	Belarus	Won 1:0	Shevchenko 90' (pen)
20 August 2008	Friendly	Lviv	Poland	Won 1:0	S. Kravchenko 45'
1 June 2008	Friendly	Stockholm	Sweden	Won 0:1	Nazarenko 82'
24 May 2008	Friendly	Rotterdam	Holland	Lost 3:0	Kuyt 23', Huntelaar 37', Babel 63'
26 March 2008	Friendly	Kyiv	Serbia	Won 2:0	Shevchenko 55', Nazarenko 58'
6 February 2008	Friendly	Nicosia	Cyprus	Drew 1:1	Aloneftis 20' (pen) - Milevsky 71'
21 November 2007	Euro 2008 Qualifying	Kyiv	France	Drew 2:2	Voronin 13', Shevchenko 46' - Henry 20', Govou 34'

Current form: 6 wins, 3 draws, 1 losses, 12 goals scored, 7 goals allowed. The top scorer(s): Shevchenko, Nazarenko - 4 goals.

[edit] World Cup record

Year	Round	Position	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Scorers
1930 to 1994	Did not enter, was part of USSR	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1998 to 2002	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2006	Quarter-finals	8th	5	2	1	2	5	7	Shevchenko (2), Kalynychenko, Rebrov, Rusol
2010	Qualification in progress
Total	Best: Quarter-finals	Best: 8th	5	2	1	2	5	7	Top scorer: Shevchenko (2)

[edit] European Championship record

Year	Round	Position	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Scorers
1960 to 1992	Did not enter, was part of USSR	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1996 to 2008	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2012	Qualified as host nation (along with Poland)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	Best: -	Best: -	-	-	-	-	-	-	Top scorer:

[edit] Qualifying campaigns

FIFA World Cup	European Football Championship
1994 - Qualifying spot not granted by FIFA	1996 - Finished 4th in Qualifying group
1998 - Finished 2nd in Qualifying group, lost to Croatia in playoffs	2000 - Finished 2nd in Qualifying group, lost to Slovenia in playoffs
2002 - Finished 2nd in Qualifying group, lost to Germany in playoffs	2004 - Finished 3rd in Qualifying group
2006 - Finished 1st in Qualifying group, qualified for WC 2006	2008 - Finished 4th in Qualifying group
2010 - Qualification in progress	2012 - Qualified as host nation

[edit] Former famous players

^[2] For notable players from the USSR era, see USSR national football team.

Oleh Luzhny 52 (0) Yuri Kalitvintsev 22 (1) Oleksandr Holovko 58 (0)

Vitaly Kosovsky 25 (2) Oleg Kuznetsov 3 (0) Gennadiy Litovchenko 4 (0)

Oleksiy Mykhaylichenko 2 (0) Dmytro Parfenov 18 (0) Serhiy Popov 54 (5)

Oleh Protasov 1 (0) Hennady Zubov 29 (3)

[edit] Player records

Player/coach records are accurate as of October 11, 2008.

[edit] Most capped Ukraine players

#	Name	Career	Caps	Goals
1	Andriy Shevchenko [3]	1995 - Present	85	39
2	Oleksandr Shovkovskiy [3]	1994 - Present	84	0
3	Anatoliy Tymoschuk [3]	2000 - Present	81	1
4	Serhiy Rebrov [3]	1992 - 2007	75	15
5	Andriy Husin	1993 - 2006	71	9
6	Andriy Vorobei [3]	2000 - Present	68	9
7	Andriy Nesmachniy [3]	2000 - Present	66	0
8	Vladislav Vashchuk [3]	1996 - 2007	63	1
9	Oleksandr Holovko	1995 - 2004	58	0
10	Andriy Voronin [3]	2002 - Present	56	6

[edit] Top Ukraine goalscorers

#	Player	Career	Goals (Caps)
1	Andriy Shevchenko	1995 - Present	39 (85)
2	Serhiy Rebrov	1992 - 2007	15 (75)
3	Andriy Vorobei	2000 - Present	9 (68)
	Andriy Husin	1993 - 2006	9 (71)
5	Timerlan Huseinov	1993 - 1997	8 (14)
6	Serhiy Nazarenko	2003 - Present	7 (33)
	Maksym Kalynychenko	2002 - Present	7 (38)
8	Viktor Leonenko	1992 - 1996	6 (14)
	Ruslan Rotan	2003 - Present	6 (33)
	Oleh Husyev	2003 - Present	6 (47)
	Andriy Voronin	2002 - Present	6 (56)

Players in Bold are still active.

[edit] Ukraine captains

Player/coach records are accurate as of October 11, 2008.

#	Player	Ukraine career	Captain Caps (Total Caps)
1	Oleh Luzhny	1992 - 2002	39 (52)
2	Andriy Shevchenko [3]	1995 - Present	38 (85)
3	Oleksandr Holovko	1995 - 2004	13 (58)
	Yuri Kalitvintsev	1995 - 1999	13 (22)
5	Oleksandr Shovkovskiy [3]	1994 - Present	10 (84)
6	Anatoliy Tymoschuk [3]	2000 - Present	9 (81)
7	Serhiy Bezhenar	1992 - 1997	4 (23)
	Yuri Maximov	1992 - 2002	4 (27)
9	Serhiy Diryavka	1992 - 1995	3 (9)
	Ihor Kutepov	1992 - 1993	3 (4)

[edit] Ukraine managers

Manager	Ukraine career	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF[4]	GA[5]	Win %
Viktor Prokopenko	1992	3	0	1	2	2	5	0
Mykola Pavlov (caretaker)	1992	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Oleh Bazilevich	1993–1994	11	4	3	4	13	14	36.36
Mykola Pavlov (caretaker)	1994	2	0	0	2	0	3	0
Yozhef Sabo	1994	2	1	1	0	3	0	50
Anatoly Konjkov	1995	7	3	0	4	8	13	42.86
Yozhef Sabo	1996–1999	32	15	11	6	44	26	46.88
Valery Lobanovsky	2000–2001	18	6	7	5	20	20	33.33
Leonid Buriak	2002–2003	19	5	6	8	18	23	26.32
Oleg Blokhin	2003–2007	46	21	14	11	65	40	45.65
Oleksiy Mykhaylichenko	2008–	9	6	2	1	10	5	66.67

[edit] Current players

Players' records are accurate as of November 19, 2008.
The following players have all recently been called up to the Ukraine squad for the World Cup 2010 Qualifiers.

Goalkeepers

Name	Date of birth	Club	Caps (goals)	Most Recent Call up
Oleksandr Shovkovsky	02.01.1975	Dynamo Kyiv	84 (-65)	v Croatia, October 11, 2008
Andriy Pyatov	28.06.1984	Shakhtar Donetsk	9 (-5)	v Norway, November 19, 2008
Vyacheslav Kernozenko	04.06.1976	Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk	5 (-8)	v Poland, August 20, 2008
Bohdan Shust	04.03.1986	Shakhtar Donetsk	4 (-1)	v Serbia, March 26, 2008
Stanislav Bohush	25.10.1983	Dynamo Kyiv	1 (0)	v Norway, November 19, 2008
Rustam Khudzhamov	05.10.1982	Shakhtar Donetsk	0 (0)	v Kazakhstan, September 10, 2008

Defenders

Name	Date of birth	Club	Caps (goals)	Most Recent Call up
Andriy Nesmachniy	28.02.1979	Dynamo Kyiv	66 (0)	v Norway, November 19, 2008
Andriy Rusol	16.01.1983	Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk	43 (3)	v Norway, November 19, 2008
Volodymyr Yezerskiy	15.11.1976	Shakhtar Donetsk	39 (2)	v Sweden, June 1, 2008
Dmytro Chyhrynsky	07.11.1986	Shakhtar Donetsk	13 (0)	v Norway, November 19, 2008
Oleksandr Kucher	22.10.1982	Shakhtar Donetsk	11 (1)	v Norway, November 19, 2008
Taras Mikhalik	28.10.1983	Dynamo Kyiv	11 (0)	v Croatia, October 11, 2008
Vyacheslav Shevchuk	13.05.1979	Shakhtar Donetsk	11 (0)	v Norway, November 19, 2008
Hrygory Yarmash	04.01.1985	Vorskla Poltava	6 (0)	v Croatia, October 11, 2008
Vitaliy Mandzyuk	24.01.1986	Arsenal Kyiv [6]	6 (0)	v Norway, November 19, 2008
Oleh Dopilka	12.03.1986	Dynamo Kyiv	2 (0)	v Serbia, March 26, 2008
Vitaliy Fedoriv	21.10.1987	Amkar Perm [6]	1 (0)	v Norway, November 19, 2008
Oleh Krasnoperov	25.07.1980	Vorskla Poltava	1 (0)	v Norway, November 19, 2008

Midfielders

Name	Date of birth	Club	Caps (goals)	Most Recent Call up
Anatoliy Tymoschuk	30.03.1979	Zenit Saint Petersburg	81 (1)	v Croatia, October 11, 2008
Oleh Husyev	25.04.1983	Dynamo Kyiv	47 (6)	v Serbia, March 26, 2008
Maksym Kalynychenko	26.01.1979	Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk	38 (7)	v Croatia, October 11, 2008
Oleh Shelayev	05.11.1976	Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk	36 (1)	v France, November 20, 2007
Serhiy Nazarenko	16.02.1980	Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk	33 (7)	v Norway, November 19, 2008
Ruslan Rotan	29.10.1981	Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk	33 (6)	v Serbia, March 26, 2008
Oleksiy Hai	06.11.1982	Shakhtar Donetsk	14 (0)	v Norway, November 19, 2008
Serhiy Kravchenko	24.04.1983	Vorskla Poltava	7 (1)	v Norway, November 19, 2008
Yevhen Levchenko	02.01.1978	Groningen	7 (0)	v Croatia, October 11, 2008
Denys Golaydo	03.06.1984	Tavriya Simferopol	4 (0)	v Croatia, October 11, 2008
Oleksandr Aliyev	03.02.1985	Dynamo Kyiv	4 (0)	v Norway, November 19, 2008
Valentyn Slyusar	15.09.1977	Metalist Kharkiv	1 (0)	v Norway, November 19, 2008
Serhiy Valyayev	16.09.1978	Metalist Kharkiv	1 (0)	v Norway, November 19, 2008

Forwards

Name	Date of birth	Club	Caps (goals)	Most Recent Call up
Andriy Shevchenko	29.09.1976	Milan	85 (39)	v Croatia, October 11, 2008
Andriy Vorobei	29.11.1978	Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk	68 (9)	v Serbia, March 26, 2008
Andriy Voronin	21.07.1979	Hertha Berlin[7]	56 (6)	v Croatia, October 11, 2008
Artem Milevsky	12.01.1985	Dynamo Kyiv	16 (1)	v Norway, November 19, 2008
Oleksandr Hladky	24.08.1987	Shakhtar Donetsk	8 (1)	v Sweden, June 1, 2008
Yevhen Seleznyov	20.07.1985	Shakhtar Donetsk	5 (1)	v Norway, November 19, 2008
Volodymyr Homenyuk	19.07.1985	Tavriya Simferopol	4 (0)	v Norway, November 19, 2008
Marko Dević	27.10.1983	Metalist Kharkiv	1 (0)	v Norway, November 19, 2008
Artem Kravets	03.06.1989	Dynamo Kyiv	0 (0)	v Serbia, March 26, 2008

[edit] Previous squads

• 2006 FIFA World Cup squads - Ukraine

[edit] Home venues record

Since Ukraine's first fixture (April 29, 1992 vs. Hungary) they have played their home games at 8 different stadiums.

Venue	City	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	Points per game
Olimpiyskyi	Kyiv	41	20	14	7	65	33	1.80
VVL Dynamo	Kyiv	10	6	4	0	17	5	2.20
Ukraina	Lviv	5	5	0	0	11	3	3.00
Chornomorets	Odessa	2	1	1	0	2	1	2.00
Shakhtar	Donetsk	2	0	1	1	0	2	0.50
Dnipro	Dnipropetrovsk	1	1	0	0	1	0	3.00
Meteor	Dnipropetrovsk	1	0	1	0	2	2	1.00
Metalist	Kharkiv	1	0	1	0	0	0	1.00
Avanhard	Uzhhorod	1	0	0	1	1	3	0.00
Totals		64	33	22	9	99	49	1.89

Last updated: Ukraine 1–0 Norway, November 19, 2008. Statistics include official FIFA-recognised matches only.

[edit] World rankings

Date	FIFA Ranking	Elo Rating
January 1994	90th	49th
January 1995	77th	63rd
January 1996	69th	55th
January 1997	59th	44th
January 1998	49th	44th
January 1999	34th	34th
January 2000	27th	36th
January 2001	34th	34th
January 2002	45th	42nd
January 2003	45th	40th
January 2004	61st	49th
January 2005	57th	31st
January 2006	40th	30th
January 2007	13th	21st
January 2008	30th	39th

Highest position ever

FIFA: 11 (February 2007)

Elo: 18 (March 2007)

Lowest position ever

FIFA: 132 (September 1993)

Elo: 67 (March 1995)

[edit] See also

• Ukrainians in USSR national football team

[edit] Notes

1. ^ European Championship 1988 - Final Tournament - Full Details
2. ^ Historical site of the Ukrainian soccer. (in Ukrainian)[1]
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} Still available for selection
4. ^ Goals for / scored
5. ^ Goals against / conceded
6. ^ ^{a b} On loan from Dynamo Kyiv
7. ^ On loan from Liverpool F. C.

[edit] External links

• Ukrainian page on FIFA web-site (include upcomming fixtures)
• Official website
• Ukraine National Football Team
• UkrSoccerHistory.com
• http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=328162&cc=5901
• http://www.eloratings.net/
• Videos of Ukrainian soccer goals(cataloged in English)

International football v •