Olympics 2024: Ukraine takes on Iraq in their first-ever Olympic match

24.07.2024 09:00

Today, on July 24, Ukraine's Olympic football team will play their first-ever official match in the history of the Summer Games, facing the Asian representative, Iraq.

The players of our team understand the significance of this historic event, which will take place in Lyon and kick-off at 20:00 Kyiv time.

Photo by Vitaliy Kliuiev

“We understand that the first game is very important, so we are focused and preparing for a victory,” emphasized Heorhiy Yermakov.

“This will be Ukraine's debut match at the Olympics, so there is some nervousness. But we need a win. It will make things easier moving forward. Iraq is a physically strong team that plays vertical football, so it won't be easy against them,” admitted Illia Krupskyi.

“Each of us is highly motivated. We have analyzed the opponent, and the Iraqi team is good and of high quality. All their players are individually strong,” noted Maksym Talovierov.

Photo by Vitaliy Kliuiev

“At the Olympics, we want to go as far as possible. When we were at EURO 2023 with this team, we didn't believe we could go that far. But we are here, and I hope we can create some magic at the Olympics too,” said Arseniy Batagov.

Photo by Vitaliy Kliuiev

“It's nice to be in the national team. We have a very good group, so my emotions are very positive. I haven't yet fully grasped what the Olympics are. It's a tournament that not everyone gets to participate in. When the Games start, I think it will hit me. As a child, I couldn't imagine performing at the Olympics. Our participation shows that both I and the team are moving in the right direction,” stressed Oleksiy Sych.

In preparation for the tournament, the Blue and Yellow played two friendly matches in France — against Egypt (1:1) and Paraguay (2:2).

“We can't say whether we are satisfied with the results of the friendly matches. We were preparing for the Olympics, not just aiming to win at any cost. Of course, we always want to win, but there are many nuances that the coaching staff needs to pay attention to,” stated Ukraine Olympic team head coach Ruslan Rotan.

Photo by Vitaliy Kliuiev

You can watch Ukraine's historic match at the Olympics live on local Suspilne TV channels, as well as on the Suspilne Sport channel and website.

The match between Ukraine and Iraq will be officiated by an international referee team led by Sudanese referee Mahmoud Ismail.

Official Roster of Ukraine's Olympic Football Team for the 2024 Games

Goalkeepers

Defenders

Midfielders

Forwards

The list includes 22 players, with four reserved spots.

According to the regulations, players born after January 1, 2001, are eligible to participate. Additionally, each team can include three players who are older than this age.

2024 Olympics. Men's Football Tournament

Group A: France, USA, Guinea, New Zealand.

Group B: Argentina, Morocco, Iraq, Ukraine.

Group C: Uzbekistan, Spain, Egypt, Dominican Republic.

Group D: Japan, Paraguay, Mali, Israel.

Group B Schedule

July 24, 2024

Argentina vs Morocco (16:00, Saint-Étienne)

Iraq vs Ukraine (20:00, Lyon)

July 27, 2024

Argentina vs Iraq (16:00, Lyon)

Ukraine vs Morocco (18:00, Saint-Étienne)

July 30, 2024

Ukraine vs Argentina (18:00, Lyon)

Morocco vs Iraq (18:00, Nice)

All match times are in Kyiv time.