Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has congratulated the Ukrainian national soccer team on its 2-1 victory against Iceland and qualification for the Euro 2024 Championship.
“Thank you, guys! Thank you, national team! For the most important emotions for the whole country. For the super important victory and exit to the Euro,” Zelensky wrote in Telegram on Wednesday night.
He noted that with this victory the Ukrainian national team “once again proved: when Ukrainians have a hard time, but they do not give up and continue to fight, then Ukrainians are sure to win.”
“In times when they want to destroy us every day, we prove every day: Ukrainians are and will be! Ukraine is and will be! Thank you for the victory!” – summarized the President.
The Ukraine-Iceland game was held in Wroclaw, Poland.
At the beginning of the game Ukraine had an advantage in possession of the ball, but the first half hour of the game ended with a goal by Iceland.
Ukraine restored parity in the 54th minute. Viktor Tsygankov struck the bottom corner of the goal – 1:1. The second goal was scored by Mykhailo Mudryk in the 84th minute.
The other two last two tickets to the final part of Euro 2024 were won by Georgia and Poland in penalty shootouts on Tuesday.
Ukraine will play its first match at the tournament in Munich on June 17 against Romania. The opponents in Group E will also be Slovakia and Belgium, with whom the Ukrainian team will play on June 21 and 26 in Düsseldorf and Stuttgart, respectively.
In the second meeting in the Euro 2024 qualifier with England, the Ukrainian national team drew 1-1 for the first time, Suspilne Sport reported on Saturday.
The match took place in Wroclaw, Poland. During the first half, Ukraine scored a goal in the 26th minute, scored by Oleksandr Zinchenko from a pass from Yukhym Konoplya. The English continued to put pressure on Anatoliy Trubin’s goal, and in the 41st minute Kyle Walker scored the equalizer. In the second half, Englishman Bukayo Saka came close to success, but his shot hit the crossbar. The Ukrainian national team successfully held off the opponent until the end of the match and earned a point – 1:1.
This is the second meeting of the teams since the beginning of the year, on March 26, the English won a 2-0 home victory at Wembley Stadium in London thanks to goals by Harry Kane and Bukayo Saku.
As a result, the Ukrainian national team moved to second place in the group standings with seven points. England is in the lead (14 points), Italy is in third place with three points, followed by North Macedonia, also with three points, and Malta, which has not scored any points.
The next match of the Ukrainian national team will be held on Tuesday, September 12, in Milan, where it will meet the Italian national team.
The Ukrainian national soccer team lost to England in the opening match of the Euro 2024 selection with a score of 0:2, the Ukrainian Football Association said.
“In the end, the England national team celebrated a 2-0 victory, while the Ukrainians will try to rectify the situation as early as June,” it said in a report published Sunday evening.
On June 16, the North Macedonia-Ukraine match will be played in the third qualifying round.
