Ukraine are bidding to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with their matches taking place in September, October and November 2025.
Serhiy Rebrov’s team are in Group D in the UEFA section alongside Azerbaijan, Iceland, and France, who have reached the previous two World Cup finals.
Ukraine are operating at something of an automatic disadvantage, though. Thanks to the ongoing conflict with Russia following their invasion of Ukrainian territory in 2022, Rebrov’s team must play their designated home matches in a place of safety.
Here’s a look at where they’ve had to stage these matches.
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Where do Ukraine play home games?
Since February 2022, Ukraine have opted against playing international games in their home nation, with UEFA and FIFA working with the Ukrainian FA to make alternate arrangements.
Ukraine will play their ‘home’ World Cup qualifiers in Poland. Their next game against France on September 5 will be held in Wroclaw Stadium in Wroclaw. The ‘home’ game against Azerbaijan in October will be at Jozef Pilsudski Cracovia Stadium in Krakow, while their final qualifier against Iceland in November is at the Polish Army Stadium in Warsaw.
Away matches have also been disrupted, with their 2022 World Cup playoff semifinal against Scotland moved from March to June before UEFA Nations League ‘home’ matches against Armenia and the Republic of Ireland were switched to the Polish city of Lodz. They also played Malta in Trnava, Slovakia.
Where do Ukraine usually play home games?
Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, home international matches were played across various venues in the country, with the main options in the capital city Kyiv.
Following its separation from the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine have used 12 different stadiums for international games, with over half played at either the Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex or the Valeriy Lobanovskyi Dynamo Stadium, both based in Kyiv.
Ukraine also co-hosted the Euro 2012 tournament with Poland, with four stadiums used, including the Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex alongside other sites in Donetsk, Kharkiv and Lviv.
Do Ukrainian clubs still play league games?
The Ukrainian Premier League was suspended in April 2022, in the final weeks of the 2021/22 domestic season, due to the impact of the war.
Teams from the Donbas region, including Shakhtar Donetsk, had already made the move away from home bases in previous years due to continued conflict and disruption in eastern Ukraine.
However, despite appearing to be set for a prolonged suspension, top-flight football returned in Ukraine for a delayed 2022/23 season in August that same year.
Certain security restrictions remain in place, with matches involving teams from the east moved into Kyiv or other areas of the country, with restrictions on fans not being allowed to attend games until measures are relaxed.
