The Ukraine Euro 2024 squad heads to Germany having qualified via the play-offs with 2-1 wins over Bosnia and Iceland in March. They finished third behind England and Italy in their qualifying group, but were hampered by having to play home games at neutral venues due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
There is sufficient quality in their ranks to suggest they are capable of at least reaching the knockout stage and they might just be dark-horses for a long run if their talented attacking players click.
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Ukraine – Key facts
Year founded: 1992
Nickname: The Blue and Yellow
Current FIFA ranking: 22
Highest FIFA ranking: 11th
Year of Euro debut: 2012
Best Euro performance: Quarter-finals (2020)
Player to watch: Artem Dovbyk
Full Ukraine Euro 2024 squad
Serhiy Rebrov has announced a 26-man squad for the tournament.
Goalkeeper
- Heorhiy Bushchan
- Anatoliy Trubin
- Andriy Lunin
Defence
- Mykola Matviyenko
- Vitaliy Mykolenko
- Illya Zabarnyi
- Oleksandr Tymchyk
- Yukhym Konoplya
- Bohdan Mykhaylichenko
- Oleksandr Svatok
- Valeriy Bondar
- Maksym Talovyerov
Midfield
- Andriy Yarmolenko
- Taras Stepanenko
- Oleksandr Zinchenko
- Serhiy Sydorchuk
- Ruslan Malinovskyi
- Viktor Tsyhankov
- Oleksandr Zubkov
- Mykhailo Mudryk
- Mykola Shaparenko
- Heorhiy Sudakov
- Volodymyr Brazhko
Attack
- Roman Yaremchuk
- Artem Dovbyk
- Vladyslav Vanat
Surprise inclusions in Ukraine Euro 2024 squad
Valeriy Bondar
Rebrov’s squad contains few surprises, but Valeriy Bondar is one player who could have been excluded. He skippered Ukraine to U-20 World Cup glory in 2019 but his career hasn’t taken off as many expected. He continues to play for Shakhtar Donetsk and the last of his international caps was back in 2022.
Serhiy Sydorchuk
The 33-year-old midfielder Serhiy Sydorchuk is one of the most experienced players in this Ukraine squad and was a starter in the Euro 2020 quarter-final against England three years ago. His importance has waned considerably since then though.
He now plays his football with Belgian minnows Westerlo and has only been a peripheral figure for his country over the past couple of years.
In-form players for Ukraine
Artem Dovbyk
Key to Ukraine’s hopes in Germany will be their dynamic Girona duo who are fresh from an outstanding season in La Liga with the Catalan club. Striker Artem Dovbyk had the season of his life, scoring 24 league goals to win Spain’s prestigious Pichichi Trophy. With 10 goals in his last nine games, he takes stunning form into the Euros and is one of the strikers to watch out for in this tournament.
Viktor Tsyhankov
The link-up between Dovbyk and winger Viktor Tsyhankov may well be Ukraine’s greatest weapon over the next month. Teammates at club level, Tsyhankov assisted Dovbyk on three occasions in La Liga 2023/24 and they’ll look to repeat the trick on the international stage. 26 year old Tsyhankov carries a goal threat in his own right too, scoring eight in the Spanish top flight this season, including a final weekend brace against Granada.
Ukraine Predicted Euro 2024 XI
Ukraine vs Romania
(4-2-3-1) Lunin, Konoplya, Zabarnyi, Matviyenko, Mykolenko, Malinovskyi, Zinchenko, Tsyhankov, Sudakov, Mudryk, Dovbyk
Perhaps more motivated than any other country at this tournament given events in their homeland, Ukraine start with two winnable fixtures and they’re likely to line up in their usual 4-2-3-1 system against Romania on matchday one. 21 year old Heorhiy Sudakov should start in the advanced midfield role and will be their creator-in-chief with Tsyhankov and Mykhaylo Mudryk operating on the flanks for a side that isn’t short on attacking weapons.
Ukraine vs Slovakia
(4-2-3-1) Lunin, Konoplya, Zabarnyi, Matviyenko, Mykolenko, Stepanenko, Zinchenko, Tsyhankov, Sudakov, Mudryk, Dovbyk
Assuming the opening performance is solid, Ukraine are unlikely to make radical changes ahead of the second game. The one place that does look up for grabs is the second holding midfield slot alongside Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko. Ruslan Malinovskyi and Taras Stepanenko are the main candidates for it, and we may see one rotate in for the other, given both are on the wrong side of 30.
Ukraine vs Belgium
(4-2-3-1) Lunin, Konoplya, Zabarnyi, Matviyenko, Mykolenko, Malinovskyi, Zinchenko, Tsyhankov, Sudakov, Mudryk, Yaremchuk
On paper, Belgium are the strongest team in Euro 2024 Group E and this fixture could determine who wins it. Ukraine don’t have a great deal of depth in defence, the weakest part of their team, so we could see the same back four with perhaps some light rotation in other areas.
Dovbyk has only scored eight times for his country and if he fails to ignite in the opening games, Valencia’s Roman Yaremchuk may feature up top despite his considerably less impressive club form.
