Zubkov's goal brings Ukraine into the World Cup playoffs

Decisive matches of the football team, gambling by Oleksandr Usyk and the Odesa derby that didn't happen. Read more about these and other events in the digest of sports events from Intent.

Football. Qualification for the 2026 World Cup

• Two matches this week decided whether the Ukrainian national team would continue to compete for participation in the World Cup in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. To compete for direct entry, it was necessary to beat both France and Iceland. To take second place and reach the playoffs, a victory in the second game regardless of the first, or a draw if the French could be beaten, would be enough.

Kylian Mbappe against Oleksandr Svatko. PHOTO: AFP

In the match with France , Serhii Rebrov 's coaching staff clearly relied on a 0-0 score and a deaf defense. Zero managed to hold out for a little over a half until Taras Mikhavko fouled in his own penalty area in the 55th minute. After that, the French scored three more times, and the best part of the defeat is not even the score, but the statistics of shots on goal - 25:0 in favor of France. That is, not a single shot by the Ukrainians in 90 minutes. In the match with Iceland, only a victory was now needed.

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A goal for Iceland. SCREENSHOT: Megogo

• The Ukraine vs. Iceland match was not going in favor of the Ukrainians for a long time. Several sharp moments ended in saves by Icelandic goalkeeper Olafsson. Everything changed when Oleksiy Hutsulyak 's save after a corner in the 83rd minute was converted by Oleksandr Zubkov. After that, the opponents launched massive attacks, but Ukraine's defense and Anatoliy Trubin defended the goal, and in the third added minute Oleksiy Hutsulyak doubled the advantage - Ukraine is in the playoffs!

• To qualify for the World Cup, Ukraine will have to go through two more playoff rounds in the spring of 2026. Our national team's opponents will be determined later.

Games and results

Niva vs Chornomorets match. PHOTO: FC Chornomorets

• "Chornomorets broke their losing streak with an away victory in Ternopil. Yaroslav Rakitsky scored the only goal of the game with a spectacular long-range shot. This is the third goal of the season for the Odesa defender.

Standings of the First League. SCREEN SHOT: pfl.ua

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Sisters vs Kolos match. PHOTOS: HFC "Seasters"

• "Seasters beat Kolos in a tough home match with a minimum score. The victory was brought to Odesa by goals from Josephine Ngandi and Sylvia Nelson .

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Bukovyna vs Balta match. SCREENSHOT: DIVISPORT/YouTube.

• On Sunday, a match for the 2025 Ukrainian Women's Super Cup took place in Chernivtsi. Two of the country's strongest teams fought for the trophy: the reigning champion Bukovynka and the winner of the Ukrainian Cup, Balta. This time, the champions proved to be stronger and defeated the team from Odesa region in three sets.

The match between Niko-Basket and Rivne. PHOTO: fbu.ua

• "Niko Basket won its third victory of the season. Valentyn Beresnev 's wards convincingly beat Rivne at home. A comfortable advantage for Mykolaiv was provided by a breakthrough in the second quarter, which they won with a score of 25:9

"Sokil vs: HC Sokil Kyiv

• Odeschyna hockey team lost to Sokol with a crushing score on the road . In addition, the debutants were supposed to play in Vinnytsia in the Odesa derby (Ukrainian hockey is a difficult thing to understand) against Storm, but this match was postponed for technical reasons until next year. On the other hand, Kryzhynka-Capital returned to the championship, which was withdrawn a week ago (Ukrainian hockey is a very difficult thing to understand).

Quote of the week.

• Oleksandr Usyk is not only an absolute world boxing champion , but also a famous comedian. This week he surprised us with a story about Bohdan Saliy, the development director of his Ready to Fight company. Believe it or not - it's a rhetorical question, but we can't help but quote

Oleksandr Usyk. PHOTO: Ready to Fight

I won it against some tough Chinese guys. They were like gangsters. They had guns and everything, they were so tough. And we came in on a steed. I said: "Let's play".

Traditionally, we wish you and your favorite athletes and teams success!

Адлен Муатс