World Cup 2026 Qualifiers. Serhiy Rebrov: "We must use the time before qualifiers to prepare well for each opponent"
Head coach of Ukraine’s national team, Serhiy Rebrov, participated online in a Christmas gathering of the national team representatives, football experts, media, and fans in Lviv.
The central event of the meeting was watching the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualification draw held in Zurich, Switzerland. According to the draw, Ukraine was placed in Group D, where they will face the winner of the 2024/2025 UEFA Nations League quarterfinal between France and Croatia, as well as Iceland and Azerbaijan.
"All opponents are challenging. It is what it is. I believe we can play against anyone. From the first pot, we got France or Croatia... In my opinion, France is the favorite, but we’ll see. We will prepare and fight. France has a higher ranking, but I’ve watched Croatia’s matches and understand they are also a very strong team. We must use the time before qualifiers to prepare well for each opponent.
It will be very tough to play in Iceland, as they are a strong team at home. Recently, Iceland has made significant progress, and many of its players now compete in top leagues.
In June, we plan to play two friendly matches. Negotiations are ongoing, so we cannot confirm any details yet. However, we will choose opponents who can help us prepare for the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers.
Currently, we don’t know where we will host our group-stage matches. We don’t even know where we will play our home match against Belgium in the Nations League. Negotiations are still underway," - said Serhiy Rebrov.