---
title: "Ukraine returns to the elite: who will be the national team's opponents at the 2027 World Championship"
description: "The Ukrainian national hockey team will return to the elite division for the first time in 20 years at the 2027 World Championship! 🏒🇺🇦 The tournament will take place in Germany, where the \"blue and yellows\" will face Finland, Switzerland, and other giants of world hockey. The main task will be to retain their status in the top division."
date: 2026-06-05T10:16:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/ukraine-returns-to-elite-2027-world-championship-groups
tags: []
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Ukraine returns to the elite: who will be the national team's opponents at the 2027 World Championship

![Swedish national hockey team players in yellow and blue uniforms during an intense match, potential rivals for Ukraine at the 2027 World Championship](https://xab.info/media/2026/06/05/ukraina-v-elite-chm-2027-sostav-grupp/ukraina-v-elite-chm-2027-sostav-grupp-1.webp)

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has officially announced the schedule for the group stage of the 2027 World Championship. For Ukrainian hockey, this event is significant: the national team will return to the elite division for the first time in two decades to compete against the strongest teams in the world.

The tournament will take place in Germany from May 14 to 30, 2027. The Ukrainian national team has been assigned to Group A, whose matches will be hosted in the city of Düsseldorf. In this quartet, the "blue and yellows" will face the tournament hosts, as well as the reigning world champions from Finland and the runners-up from Switzerland.

### Group composition and schedule

In addition to the Ukrainian team, the national teams of Germany, Finland, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia will compete in Group A. Meanwhile, Group B will feature teams from Canada, the USA, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Denmark, Norway, Kazakhstan, and Hungary. The organizers promise to publish the exact schedule of the group stage matches in the near future.

### Main goal — retaining status

The main task for the team coached by Dmytro Khristych will be to retain their status in the top division. According to the competition regulations, the worst team from each group at the end of the group stage will automatically be relegated to the second-strongest division (Division 1A).

Given this factor, the matches against the teams of Austria and Slovenia will be crucial for the Ukrainian national team. The results of these confrontations may prove decisive in the fight for survival in the elite.

### Historical context of the return

The Ukrainian national team has broken into the elite of world hockey for the first time since 2007. The "blue and yellows" earned their promotion after finishing second in Division 1A. Along with the Ukrainians, the Kazakhstan team also advanced to the elite. These teams will replace the underperformers of the 2026 World Championship — Great Britain and Italy — in the Top Division.

Returning to the pinnacle of world hockey will be a serious test for the Ukrainian team, but also an opportunity to demonstrate their level to the entire planet.