Ukraine's national football team secures Euro-2024 spot with gritty victory against Iceland

27.03.2024, 11:11 rubryka.com

After being part of Euro 2012, Euro 2016, and Euro 2020, Ukraine is now preparing for 2024.

The Ukrainian national team played against Iceland on the eve of March 26.

The Ukrainian team started the match actively, but Icelanders coped with the pressure over time. The teams exchanged moments — Ukraine's Lunin saved Iceland's Þorsteinsson's shot, and the Ukrainian player Mykolenko shot wide after his team member Konoplia's pass.

However, Iceland took the lead in the 30th minute of the match. Icelandic forward Albert Guðmundsson broke through Ukraine's defense and skillfully shot into the right corner from outside the penalty area.

The Ukrainian national team quickly bounced back. Sudakov had his chance, but the goalkeeper saved his shot from the right flank of the penalty area, and then Zabarnyi shot into the net after a corner kick.

In the 39th minute, our team scored after a nice combination of Sudakov-Cyhanov-Yaremchuk, but the goal was disallowed for offside against Viktor.

Ukrainians actively started the second half, and they equalized in the 54th minute. In a counterattack, Sudakov passed diagonally to Tsyhanov, who shifted from the flank to the center and accurately shot into the far corner.

After that, the blue-yellow team continued to control the ball. After Zinchenko came on as a substitute, he created a chance for Yaremchuk but missed the target.

Later, Sudakov had a decent free-kick — the goalkeeper saved it. Then Mykolenko missed from a good position in front of the goal. Iceland responded with two quality attacks: Lunin parried Þorsteinsson's dangerous shot from the corner of the penalty area, and Albert Guðmundsson failed to convert a chance after Zabarnyi's unsuccessful action.

But in the 84th minute, the Ukrainian national team scored — Sudakov passed to Mudryk on the edge of the penalty area, who accurately shot into the left corner. As it turned out, this goal secured the blue-yellow team's place in the European Championship, the fourth for the national team in history.

President Zelensky congratulated the Ukrainian national team on qualifying for Euro 2024.

What awaits the Ukrainian national team now?

The Ukrainian national team has secured a place in the final tournament of Euro 2024, where they will play in Group E against Romania (June 17), Slovakia (June 21), and Belgium (June 26). The final tournament will take place in Germany from June 14 to July 14.

The Ukrainian national team will play in the European Football Championship for the fourth time in a row:

The most successful Euro for the Ukrainian national team so far remains Euro 2020, which took place in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Our team, led by Andrii Shevchenko, reached the quarterfinals in that tournament.

In related news, the United States Air Force and Marine Corps Trials 2024, competitions for veterans and servicemen who have been injured, have concluded at Nellis Air Force Base, a United States Air Force military base in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ukraine won 76 medals.