The Ukraine national football team has finalized its 23-man squad for the fifth round of the 2026/27 UEFA Nations League, where the Blue and Yellows will face Northern Ireland. The match will take place on Saturday, November 14, with the opening whistle sounding at 21:45 Kyiv time. This is reported by Sport RBC.UA, citing the press service of the Ukrainian Association of Football. Head coach Andrea Maldera included 23 players in the list, while three players were left out of the matchday squad.
Three Names Left Out: Reasons for Exclusion
The coaching staff decided not to rely on defender Valeriy Bondar, midfielder Mykola Shaparenko, and winger Oleksandr Nazarenko. Ahead of the fixture, Andrea Maldera publicly explained the reasons: Shaparenko will miss the game due to feeling unwell, while Bondar is sidelined due to accumulated fatigue. No specific medical or physical reasons were announced for Nazarenko, leaving room for a tactical decision by the coaching staff. It is noted that all three players remain part of the national team's extended pool and could return to the squad in upcoming windows.
Goalkeepers and Defense: Relying on Experience and Club Form
In goal, Maldera sees Anatoliy Trubin (Benfica, Portugal) as the first choice, with Dmytro Potroshytel (Shakhtar) and Heorhiy Yermakov (Kharkiv) as his understudies. Seven players have been called up for the defense: Mykola Matviyenko (Shakhtar), Eduard Sarapiy and Borys Krushynskyi (both from Polissia), Illia Krupskyi (Kharkiv), Taras Mykhavko (Dynamo), Illia Zabarnyi (PSG, France), and Vitaliy Mykolenko (Everton). This selection allows the coach to switch between a traditional back four and a more flexible three-center-back formation, which is particularly relevant against attacking Northern Ireland.
Midfield and Attack: Eight and Five Players
The midfield is represented by eight footballers: Oleh Ocheretko and Yehor Nazaryna (both from Shakhtar), Oleksandr Andriyevskyi (Polissia), Ivan Varfolomeiev (Lincoln, England), Yehor Yarmolyuk (Brentford, England), Heorhiy Sudakov (Benfica, Portugal), Hennadiy Synchuk (Montreal, Canada), and Oleksiy Kashchuk (Qarabag, Azerbaijan). Five players have been named in the attack: Ihor Krasnopyr (Polissia), Danylo Sikan (Anderlecht, Belgium), Roman Yaremchuk (Olympiacos, Greece), Vladyslav Vanat (Girona, Spain), and Artem Dovbyk (Bologna, Italy). The inclusion of both Dovbyk and Sikan in the same list emphasizes that Maldera intends to use two central forwards depending on the flow of the match.
Context: Four Points in Four Rounds and the Minimum Goal
In the four previous matches of the 2026/27 Nations League, the Ukraine national team has earned four points. At the start of the tournament, the Blue and Yellows narrowly beat Hungary (1:0), then drew with Georgia (0:0). Afterward, the Ukrainians suffered a crushing defeat against Northern Ireland (0:3), and lost to Hungary in the return leg (1:2). Thus, today's encounter carries the character of a revanche: it was on Northern Ireland's turf that the Ukrainians suffered their most painful defeat of the current campaign. Four points out of a possible ten leave the team with a chance to fight for their final group placement, but this requires at least an away win.
What's Next: Schedule and Broadcast
The fifth-round Nations League match between Northern Ireland and Ukraine will take place on November 14, 2026. The match starts at 21:45 Kyiv time. For fans planning to follow the game live, information on broadcasting channels and platforms was previously published. The match results and updated group standings will be available within hours of the final whistle.
