Ukraine vs Sweden – News and Probable Lineups

Ukraine are the favorites to conquer Sweden in Thursday’s World Cup 2026 European play-off semi-final at Estadi Ciutat de València.

Although Blagult harness the element of surprise with Graham Potter now leading the team, Serhiy Rebrov’s squad will aim to find ways to overcome opponents who finished without a victory in Group B during qualifying.

Match overview

Given that each match in the World Cup qualifiers effectively occurred away from their home ground, Ukraine reaching the playoffs is a notable success for Rebrov’s side.

The only two defeats the national team experienced were against France, who made it to the final in both 2018 and 2022 — winning the former — and were almost certain to top Group D.

The consequence of Ukraine’s inability to outshine Les Bleus is that they have again missed automatic qualification for the World Cup finals, with their sole appearance dating back to Germany 2006, when they advanced to the quarter-finals.

Only once in this timeframe — prior to the 2018 tournament — did they not make it to the playoffs, ultimately succumbing to Greece in 2010, France in 2014, and Wales before the finals in Qatar.

As they are seen as favorites to overcome Sweden, it will be intriguing to witness if the national team can inflict more suffering on Potter’s men and establish a playoff final against Poland or Albania.

Potter has been in command of Sweden for just two matches, and the Englishman enters Thursday’s fixture seeking to resolve the nation’s recent shortcomings.

The former Chelsea head coach took over a team in significant trouble during qualifying, with Jon Dahl Tomasson dismissed following a surprising 1-0 defeat to Kosovo in October.

Potter’s inaugural match, against Switzerland, concluded in a 4-1 thrashing, yet the Blue and Yellow managed to draw 1-1 in their last game of the series, with Gustav Lundgren netting an equalizer in the 87th minute to stave off a fifth consecutive defeat.

Despite having apparent attacking prowess — featuring Viktor Gyokeres, Alexander Isak, and Anthony Elanga — Sweden only scored four goals while conceding 12, highlighting their difficulties at both ends of the field.

This starkly contrasts with the team that scored 19 and conceded four in their Nations League C group, although they benefited from competing against lower-ranked sides.

Ranked 42nd globally, Potter’s team now aims to defeat the 30th-ranked nation and reach next week’s Path B playoff final.

Team News

While Ukraine are favored to triumph, they will have to manage without the suspended Ruslan Malinoxyi and Yukhym Konoplia due to an accumulation of yellow cards, while Artem Dovbyk (groin) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (knee) are sidelined due to injuries.

Rebrov will hope that Malinoxyi’s absence will not be detrimental, considering he scored three and assisted one during the qualifiers, contributing one fewer goal than Oleksii Hutsuliak (three goals, two assists).

Sweden will be missing Isak (leg), Emil Krafth (knee), Viktor Johansson, and Dejan Kulusevsi (knee), although Gyokeres and Elanga are expected to help alleviate those losses.

Only Yasin Ayari, however, generated more than one goal involvement for the struggling Blagult, leaving Potter seeking someone to assume attacking responsibility for the Blue and Yellow.

Ukraine probable starting XI:

Trubin; Tymchyk, Zabarnyi, Svatok, Mykolenko; Yarmolyuk, Kalyuzhnyi, Sudakov; Hutsuliak, Vanat, Zubkov

Sweden probable starting XI:

Nordfeldt; Lagerbielke, Hien, Lindelöf, Svensson; Lundgren, Bergvall, Ayari, Elanga; Bardghji, Gyokeres

Ukraine’s superior teamwork and stronger recent performances should allow them to edge a closely contested match, even with several key players absent.

Sweden’s attacking capabilities may pose a threat at times, but Rebrov’s men are still expected to secure a narrow win.