Five days ago, the blue-and-yellow team in the Hungarian city of Berettyóújfalu crushed Belgium (8:2), securing second place in Group V and a spot in the elite round playoffs.

To earn a direct ticket to the World Cup, where Kazakhstan, France, Spain, and Portugal have already qualified from Europe, our team needed to travel to Łódź and beat Poland in their final match. We note that many of our supporters came out to cheer on Coach Oleksandr Kosenko's players.

The start of the game was nervous, with both sides exchanging several shots. On the 7th minute, our boys took the lead when Abakshin scored from a rebound off Chernyavsky’s long shot. The Poles responded with dangerous attempts by Zastrapnik and Luteczyński, while Abakshin missed his chance for Ukraine. However, on the 9th minute, Shourma doubled their advantage with a corner kick assist from Schwede.

The Poles began to get nervous, which the blue-and-yellow team took advantage of. Farhenyuk intercepted the ball in the opponent's half and passed it to Korsun, who scored by outmaneuvering the goalkeeper. There were still many opportunities for Ukraine afterwards, and on the 20th minute, Korsun completed his brace with an assist from Zhuk. The first half ended with a four-goal lead for our national team.

The second half of the match began with attacks by the hosts. On the 27th minute, Kanivsky scored after a corner kick setup. Our goalkeeper saved his team several times afterward, but Kanivsky managed to score again, once more from a corner kick. However, on the 32nd minute, our boys finally scored an important goal—after Savenko's throw-in, Semenchuk kicked between Návrat’s legs.

Near the end of the match, Poland used their fifth substitution and managed to score one more goal. However, in the final tally, blue-and-yellow maintained the necessary lead—5:3. Thus, Ukraine secured first place in Group V and earned a ticket to the 2024 World Cup. Our team will participate in the football world championship for the first time since 2016.

World Cup 2024. European Qualifiers. Elite Round

Group V

September 15, 2023

Belgium — Ukraine — 2:10

Poland — Serbia — 1:2

September 20, 2023

Ukraine — Poland — 2:3

Serbia — Belgium — 3:3

October 6, 2023

Serbia — Ukraine — 1:6

Poland — Belgium — 7:2

October 11, 2023

Ukraine — Serbia — 1:1

Belgium — Poland — 1:3

December 15, 2023

Ukraine — Belgium — 8:2

Serbia — Poland — 2:4

December 20, 2023

Poland — Ukraine — 3:5 (0:4)

Goals: Kanivsky (27, 30), Rashkovskyi (37) — Abakshin (7), Shourma (9), Korsun (12, 20), Semenchuk (32).

Poland: Kaluha (Návrat, 21) — Skiepko, Zastrapnik, Luteczyński, Krezel (c); Kubik, Madzong, Sendlewski, Kanivskyi, Leszak, Mrowiec, Marek, Rashkovskyi.

Ukraine: Savenko — Schwede, Zhuk, Korsun, Shourma (c); Suchov, Syriy, Chernyavskyi, Abakshin, Farhenyuk, Semenchuk, Pedias, Zvarych, Zavertanii.

Warned: Luteczyński (5), Zastrapnik (24), Mrowiec (28) — Shourma (5), Abakshin (24).

December 20. Łódź. "Atlas Arena".

Belgium — Serbia — 2:4

Final Standings

Qualified for the final tournament: Kazakhstan, Ukraine, France, Spain, Portugal.

To play in the elite round playoffs: Netherlands, Poland, Croatia, Finland.

Elite Round Playoffs

Drawing: January 25, 2024.

Matches: April 8—17, 2024.

Four teams will be drawn into two pairs and play home-and-away matches. The winners of the pairs advance to the World Cup.

The World Cup will take place in Uzbekistan from September 14 to October 6, 2024.