Ukraine national football team

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.

Before that, Ukrainian players played for the USSR national football team, with Dynamo Kyiv players often forming its backbone (1986 FIFA World Cup, ). Some of the best Ukrainian players of the beginning of 1990's (including Andrei Kanchelskis, Viktor Onopko and Oleg Salenko) chose to play for Russia as it was named the official successor of the USSR, while Ukraine didn't participate in major international competitions until 1994. However, they achieved qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the first time for the team.

Despite having one of the best players in the world, Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine failed to qualify for any major championship before 2005, three times failing at the last stage, the playoffs. It lost to Croatia, failing to get to the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Slovenia prevented Ukraine from going to , 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. This would eventually prove to be a good move, as Ukraine went on to qualify for their first-ever FIFA World Cup on September 3, 2005 by drawing their match with Georgia, 1-1, in T'bilisi. In their first World Cup (2006), Ukraine managed to reach the quarter-finals before losing 3-0 to Italy

2006 FIFA World Cup

In 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 national record victory. In their last group match, a lacklustre performance by Ukraine saw them hold on to second place, as they beat Tunisia 1-0 on a penalty kick by Andriy Shevchenko.

In the Round of 16, Ukraine beat Switzerland in penalty kicks after the regulation and extra time periods ended without score. In the quarter-finals, Ukraine lost 3-0 to Italy to end their first World Cup campaign. Italy went on to win the World Cup.

Forthcoming fixtures

Date	Tournament	Location	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Scorers	bgcolor=#f5f5dc	16 August 2006	Friendly		Ukraine	X:X ? (LST)	Azerbaijan		bgcolor=#f5f5dc	6 September 2006	Euro 2008 Qual		Ukraine	X:X ? (LST)	Georgia		bgcolor=#f5f5dc	7 October 2006	Euro 2008 Qual		Italy	X:X ? (LST)	Ukraine		bgcolor=#f5f5dc	11 October 2006	Euro 2008 Qual		Ukraine	X:X ? (LST)	Scotland		bgcolor=#f5f5dc	28 March 2007	Euro 2008 Qual		Ukraine	X:X ? (LST)	Lithuania		bgcolor=#f5f5dc	2 June 2007	Euro 2008 Qual		France	X:X ? (LST)	Ukraine

Recent results

Date	Tournament	Location	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Scorers	bgcolor=#f5f5dc	30 June 2006	WC 2006 QF	Hamburg	Ukraine	0:3 -	Italy	Zambrotta 6', Toni 59', 69'	bgcolor=#f5f5dc	26 June 2006	WC 2006 R16	Cologne	Ukraine	0:0 aet 3:0 pen	Switzerland		bgcolor=#f5f5dc	23 June 2006	WC 2006 Gr H	Berlin	Ukraine	1:0 -	Tunisia	Shevchenko 70'(pen)	bgcolor=#f5f5dc	19 June 2006	WC 2006 Gr H	Hamburg	Saudi Arabia	0:4 -	Ukraine	Rusol 4', Rebrov 36', Shevchenko 46', Kalynychenko 84'	bgcolor=#f5f5dc	14 June 2006	WC 2006 Gr H	Leipzig	Spain	4:0 -	Ukraine	Alonso 13', Villa 17', 48'(pen), Torres 81'	bgcolor=#f5f5dc	8 June 2006	Friendly	Luxembourg	Luxembourg	0:3 -	Ukraine	Voronin 55', Shevchenko 83', Kalynychenko 84'	bgcolor=#f5f5dc	5 June 2006	Friendly	Gossau	Ukraine	3:0 -	Libya	Ezersky 51', Belyk 87', Vorobei 89'	bgcolor=#f5f5dc	2 June 2006	Friendly	Lausanne	Ukraine	0:0 -	Italy		bgcolor=#f5f5dc	28 May 2006	Friendly	Kyiv	Ukraine	4:0 -	Costa Rica	Nazarenko 29', Vorobei 34', Kalynychenko 40', Belyk 58'	bgcolor=#f5f5dc	28 February 2006	Friendly	Baku	Azerbaijan	0:0 -	Ukraine		bgcolor=#f5f5dc	12 October 2005	Friendly	Kyiv	Ukraine	1:0 -	Japan	Husyn 89' (pen)	bgcolor=#f5f5dc	8 October 2005	WC 2006 Qual	Dnipropetrovsk	Ukraine	2:2 -	Albania	Shevchenko 45', Rotan 86' - Bogdani 75', 83'	bgcolor=#f5f5dc	7 September 2005	WC 2006 Qual	Kyiv	Ukraine	0:1 -	Turkey	Temer 55'	bgcolor=#f5f5dc	3 September 2005	WC 2006 Qual	Tbilisi	Georgia	1:1 -	Ukraine	Gakhokidze 89' - Rotan 43'	bgcolor=#f5f5dc	17 August 2005	Friendly	Kyiv	Ukraine	2:1 -	Serbia & Montenegro	Rebrov 62', Nazarenko 71' - Kezman 90'	bgcolor=#f5f5dc	15 August 2005	Friendly	Kyiv	Ukraine	0:0 aet 3:4 pen	Israel

World Cup record

Year	Round	Position	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Scorers	bgcolor=#f5f5dc	1930 to 1994	Did not enter, was part of USSR	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	bgcolor=#f5f5dc	1998 to 2002	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	bgcolor=#f5f5dc	2006	Quarter-finals	8th	5	2	1	2	5	7	Shevchenko (2), Kalynychenko, Rebrov, Rusol	bgcolor=#f5f5dc	Total	Best: Quarter-finals	Best: 8th	5	2	1	2	5	7	Top scorer: Shevchenko (2)

European Championship record

1960 to 1992 - Did not enter, was part of USSR
1996 to 2004 - Did not qualify

Famous Players

For notable players from the USSR era, see USSR national football team.

Player records

Player/coach records are accurate as of June 30, 2006.

Most capped Ukraine players

#	Name	Career	Caps	Goals
1	Serhiy Rebrov Still available for selection	1992 - Present	74	15
2	Oleksandr Shovkovskiy Still available for selection	1994 - Present	73	-51
3=	Andriy Shevchenko Still available for selection	1995 - Present	69	31
3=	Andriy Husin Still available for selection	1993 - Present	69	9
5	Vladislav Vashchuk Still available for selection	1996 - Present	61	1
6	Anatoliy Tymoschuk Still available for selection	2000 - Present	60	1
7	Oleksandr Holovko	1995 - 2004	58	0
8	Andriy Vorobei Still available for selection	2000 - Present	56	7
9=	Serhiy Popov	1993 - 2003	54	5
9=	Andriy Nesmachniy Still available for selection	2000 - Present	54	0

Top Ukraine goalscorers

#	Player	Career	Goals (Caps)
1	Andriy Shevchenko Still available for selection	1995 - Present	31 (69)
2	Serhiy Rebrov Still available for selection	1992 - Present	15 (74)
3	Andriy Husin Still available for selection	1993 - Present	9 (69)
4	Timerlan Huseinov	1993 - 1997	8 (14)
5	Andriy Vorobei Still available for selection	2000 - Present	7 (56)
6	Viktor Leonenko	1992 - 1996	6 (14)
7=	Yuri Maximov	1992 - 2002	5 (27)
7=	Serhiy Popov	1993 - 2003	5 (54)
9=	Oleksiy Byelik Still available for selection	2004 - Present	4 (16)
9=	Maksym Kalynychenko Still available for selection	2002 - Present	4 (25)
9=	Andriy Voronin Still available for selection	2002 - Present	4 (36)

Ukraine captains

#	Player	Ukraine career	Captain (Total Caps)
1	Oleh Luzhny	1992 - 2002	39 (52)
2	Andriy Shevchenko Still available for selection	1995 - Present	25 (69)
3=	Oleksandr Holovko	1995 - 2004	13 (58)
3=	Yuriy Kalitvintsev	1995 - 1999	13 (22)
5	Oleksandr Shovkovskiy Still available for selection	1994 - Present	7 (73)
6	Serhiy Bezhenar	1992 - 1997	4 (23)
6=	Yuri Maximov	1992 - 2002	4 (27)
6=	Anatoliy Tymoschuk Still available for selection	2000 - Present	4 (60)
9	Serhiy Diryavka	1992 - 1995	3 (9)
9=	Ihor Kutepov	1992 - 1993	3 (4)

Ukraine managers

Manager	Ukraine career	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GFGoals for / scored	GAGoals against / conceded	Win %
Viktor Prokopenko	1992	3	0	1	2	2	5	16.67%
Nikolai Pavlov (caretaker)	1992	1	0	1	0	1	1	50.00%
Oleh Bazilevich	1993-1994	11	4	3	4	13	14	50.00%
Nikolai Pavlov (caretaker)	1994	2	0	0	2	0	3	0.00%
Yozhef Sabo	1994	2	1	1	0	3	0	75.00%
Anatoly Konjkov	1995	7	3	0	4	8	13	42.86%
Yozhef Sabo	1996-1999	32	15	11	6	44	26	64.06%
Valery Lobanovsky	2000-2001	18	6	7	5	20	20	52.78%
Leonid Buriak	2002-2003	19	5	6	8	18	23	42.11%
Oleg Blokhin	2003-	31	14	11	6	38	22	62.90%

Current players

The following players have all recently been called up to the Ukraine squad. Players in bold are in the Ukraine squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.

Goalkeepers

{| class="wikitable" Name Date of birth Club Caps (goals) Most Recent Call up Oleksandr Shovkovsky 02.01.1975 Dynamo Kyiv 73 (-51) 2006 FIFA World Cup Bohdan Shust 04.03.1986 Shakhtar Donetsk 3 (-0) 2006 FIFA World Cup Maksim Startsev 20.01.1980 Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih 2 (-1) v Japan, October 12, 2005 Vyacheslav Kernozenko 04.06.1976 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 2 (-5) v Azerbaijan, February 28, 2006 Andriy Pyatov 28.06.1984 Vorskla Poltava 0 (-0) 2006 FIFA World Cup

Defenders

{| class="wikitable" Name Date of birth Club Caps (goals) Most Recent Call up Vladislav Vaschuk 02.01.1975 Dynamo Kyiv 61 (1) 2006 FIFA World Cup Andriy Nesmachniy 28.02.1979 Dynamo Kyiv 54 (0) 2006 FIFA World Cup Serhiy Fedorov 18.02.1975 Dynamo Kyiv 28 (1) Removed from 2006 FIFA World Cup squad Removed from 23-man squad due to injury. Replaced by Oleksandr Yatsenko Andriy Rusol 16.01.1983 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 27 (2) 2006 FIFA World Cup Volodymyr Yezerskiy 15.11.1976 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 25 (1) 2006 FIFA World Cup Oleksandr Radchenko 19.07.1976 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 17 (0) v Japan, October 12, 2005 Vyacheslav Sviderskiy 01.01.1979 Arsenal Kyiv On loan from Shakhtar Donetsk 9 (0) 2006 FIFA World Cup Vyacheslav Shevchuk 13.05.1979 Shakhtar Donetsk 4 (0) v Albania, October 8, 2005 Serhiy Matyukhin 21.03.1980 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 3 (0) v Denmark, March 30, 2005 Oleksandr Yatsenko 24.02.1985 FC Kharkiv On loan from Dynamo Kyiv 1 (0) 2006 FIFA World Cup Dmytro Chigrinsky 07.11.1986 Shakhtar Donetsk 0 (0) 2006 FIFA World Cup

Midfielders

{| class="wikitable" Name Date of birth Club Caps (goals) Most Recent Call up Serhiy Rebrov 03.07.1974 Dynamo Kyiv 74 (15) 2006 FIFA World Cup Andriy Husin 11.12.1972 Krylya Sovetov 69 (9) 2006 FIFA World Cup Anatoliy Tymoschuk 30.03.1979 Shakhtar Donetsk 60 (1) 2006 FIFA World Cup Oleh Husyev 25.04.1983 Dynamo Kyiv 30 (1) 2006 FIFA World Cup Maksym Kalynychenko 26.01.1979 Spartak Moscow 25 (4) 2006 FIFA World Cup Ruslan Rotan 29.10.1981 Dynamo Kyiv 23 (3) 2006 FIFA World Cup Oleh Shelayev 05.11.1976 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 24 (0) 2006 FIFA World Cup Serhiy Nazarenko 16.02.1980 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 15 (2) 2006 FIFA World Cup Serhiy Shyschenko 13.01.1976 Metalurh Zaporizhzhya 14 (1) v Japan, October 12, 2005 Oleksandr Rykun 06.05.1978 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 7 (0) v Japan, October 12, 2005 Oleksandr Maximov 13.02.1985 FC Kharkiv 1 (0) v Japan, October 12, 2005 Oleksandr Kucher 22.10.1982 Shakhtar Donetsk 0 (0) v Azerbaijan, February 28, 2006

Forwards

{| class="wikitable" Name Date of birth Club Caps (goals) Most Recent Call up Andriy Shevchenko 29.09.1976 Chelsea 69 (31) 2006 FIFA World Cup Andriy Vorobei 29.11.1978 Shakhtar Donetsk 56 (7) 2006 FIFA World Cup Andriy Voronin 21.07.1979 Bayer Leverkusen 36 (4) 2006 FIFA World Cup Oleksiy Byelik 15.02.1981 Shakhtar Donetsk 16 (4) 2006 FIFA World Cup Serhiy Serebrennikov 01.09.1976 R. Charleroi S.C. On loan from Club Brugge 11 (1) v Azerbaijan, February 28, 2006 Oleh Venglinsky 21.03.1978 Chornomorets Odessa 10 (1) v Japan, October 12, 2005 Oleksandr Kosyrin 18.06.1977 Metalurh Donetsk 7 (0) v Israel, August 15, 2005 Artem Milevsky 12.01.1985 Dynamo Kyiv 4 (0) 2006 FIFA World Cup

World Ranking

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
July 2006	15th	24th

Highest Position Ever: FIFA - 15th (July 2006), Elo - 20th (June 2006)
Lowest Position Ever: FIFA - 132nd (September 1993), Elo - 67th (March 1995)

Notes

External links

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=328162&cc=5901
http://ukraine.worldcupblog.org
http://www.eloratings.net/

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