Football is undoubtedly the number 1 sport in Ukraine. However, despite its popularity, great attention to it, and the funds invested in its development, the participation of the Ukrainian football team in the Olympic Games remained only a dream for a long time.
Ukraine rarely makes it to the Olympics in team sports. In men’s competitions, this happened only once (in 1996, the water polo team did not leave the group), and in women’s three times — in the same 1996, basketball players finished fourth, and the volleyball team did not pass the group stage. In 2004, the women’s team of Ukraine won bronze medals in handball.
And so, in 2024, the men’s Olympic team of Ukraine will play on football fields in France. This happened thanks to reaching the semifinals of the last European youth football championship in 2023. After defeating Croatia and Romania and drawing with Spain in the group stage, the Ukrainians, under the leadership of Ruslan Rotan, won a strong-willed victory over France in the quarterfinals, after which they lost to Spain. But this result was enough to get one of the three tickets to the Olympics, which were played at the European Championship.
The other day, the draw for the Olympic football tournament took place in Paris, and the participating teams learned their opponents. Not all of them, because the Asian Youth Championship will be held in April-May this year, and three Asian national teams can play at the Olympics in Paris, plus one will play in a playoff with the Guinea national team.
3×3 basketball: Great season is about to go
Ukraine got into group B, where it will meet with Argentina, Morocco, and the third Asian team. Here, it is worth clarifying right away that it will not be the bronze medalist of the Asian Championship but the third-ranked Asian national team among those that will receive three direct licenses for the Olympics through the Asian Championship (the rating is formed based on performances at the last Olympics).
This article will determine what the Ukrainian football team will be like at the Olympics, whether the draw can be considered successful, and what to expect from Ukrainian football players in Paris 2024.
Who will play for the Ukrainian football team at the Olympics in Paris 2024?
According to the regulations, players born after January 1, 2001, can play at the Olympics in Paris. This rule “cuts off” at once seven players who reached the semifinals of the European Youth Championship. However, it is possible to declare three players beyond the limit. This is where the national teams can strengthen the team with the stars of world football or reinforce problematic positions for themselves. In particular, the hosts of the Olympic Games plan that the star Kylian Mbappe will play for them.
The main problem is that the Olympics are not included in the FIFA international window, so the clubs are not obliged to send players to the Olympic Games. Therefore, whether Ukrainians from foreign clubs or our giants will be released is still being determined.
Plus, it needs to be made clear who Ruslan Rotan plans to invite to the trio outside the age limit. Artem Dovbyk, Viktor Tsygankov, and Andriy Yarmolenko are mentioned. Still, some Ukrainian journalists report that the Ukrainian national team’s coach is leaning towards inviting players who obtained an Olympic license but were born in 2000. In particular, this applies to Artem Bondarenko, one of the leaders of Shakhtar and the captain of the Ukrainian national team at the European Championship.
We will assume that Rotan can assemble the optimal team, and foreign clubs will release everyone we need.
Anatoly Trubin, the leading player at the European Championships, should fill the goalkeeper’s position. After that, he moved to the Portuguese Benfica, where he has shown an incredible level this season. This allowed him to compete for a place on the national team with the goalkeeper of Real Madrid, Andriy Lunin.
Although Ilya Zabarny did not play at the European Championship, he is only 21 years old and is suitable for the team. The central defender of Bournemouth, playing in the Premier League, can significantly raise the level of play in his Ukrainian goal.
The defender of the Austrian LASK, Maksym Taloverov, made his debut for the national team in the last match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was born in 2000, but he is the first candidate for the top three outside the limit because, at the European Championship, he was the leading player on Rotan’s team.
Top 4 Healthy Breakfast Recipes from Sports4world
Another debutant of the last match of the national team, Volodymyr Brazhko from Dynamo, looked very confident against the background of more mature partners, so it will be strange not to see him on the list of the Olympic team. Together with Brazhko, Artem Bondarenko from Shakhtar, born in 2000, as we mentioned above, acted in the support zone of the last European Championship. Still, he was the captain of the national team at the continental championship.
In addition to Trubin, the main stars of the Olympic team should be midfielders Mykhailo Mudryk and Georgy Sudakov. The former moved to Chelsea last summer and is already scoring goals in the Premier League. At the same time, the latter plays for Shakhtar but is already a transfer target of many European giants. Both are mainstays in the national team; if the clubs release them, they should be at the Olympics.
In the midfield, we still have Maksym Kucheryavy, the midfielder of the Scottish St. Johnstone and the Ukrainian U-21 national team, the midfielder of the English Brentford Yehor Yarmolyuk, and the talented midfielder of Shakhtar Oleg Ocheredko.
We can count on Danylo Sikan and Vladyslav Vanat in the attack, who have already debuted in the national team. This may be where Rotan will use another opportunity to take a player outside the age limit.
What happens to your body when you drink smoothie every day
As you can see, there are enough talented football players for the Ukrainian Olympic team. The most important thing is that most of them passed this selection for the Olympic Games together, and they are playing and ready to win on the Olympic fields of France.
Who are the opponents of the Ukrainian Olympic team in Paris 2024?
Our group’s favorite will be Argentina’s national team. It will be her 10th participation in the Olympics. The Argentines were among the winners four times, winning the Olympic tournament twice in 2004 and 2008. Argentinian media reported that 2008 champions Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria wanted to play in the Olympics. Still, even without them, Argentina is a solid team with a great generation.
Here is MLS star and Atlanta United leader Thiago Almada — a midfielder who became the world champion as part of Argentina in December 2022. He scored five goals in qualifying for the Olympics, becoming one of the tournament’s top scorers.
There is the very talented 18-year-old River Plate midfielder Claudio Echeverri, Argentinos Juniors forward Luciano Gondo, and defensive midfielder Federico Redondo — the son of Fernando Redondo, who played for Real Madrid and Milan.
Aquatics Chief Al Musallam in Hot Water
These football players won a ticket to the Olympics, and there were no European championship players among them. The main midfielder of Porto, Alan Varela, one of the best-left defenders of the EPL, the player of Brighton, Valentin Barko, the forward of the Italian Frosinone, Matias Sule, and the striker of Fiorentina, Lucas Beltran, can strengthen the team.
Morocco’s football has recently begun to develop significantly, and as a result, this national team won the U-23 African Cup of Nations last summer for the first time in history.
The Moroccans played seven times at the Olympics, but so far, they have left the group only once in 1972. There may be a few bright stars on Morocco’s Olympic team, but there are enough players at a reasonable level. Chari Riad and Abde Ezalzouli of Betis, Reims’ Amir Richardson, Genk’s Bilal El Hanous, PSV’s Ismael Saibari, and 18-year-old Youssef Lekhedim, who plays for Real U-19s but has been called up to the Moroccan national team, stand out.
This is a powerful team that takes its team game and the variability of the game. As for the personalities, most of the players play in clubs in France and Belgium, and they can also take three players from the adult national team, which is a semi-finalist of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, to the Olympics, such as Hakim Ziyesh or Ashraf Hakimi.
The third opponent of the Ukrainian national team will be determined later – it will be the worst-ranked of the three Asian national teams that will receive a license through the Asian Championship. Considering that the Asian championship will be held in April-May when most of the strong championships will have a decisive part, many national teams will lack strong players, which means that sensations are possible. The favorites of the Asian Championship will be the national teams of Japan and South Korea, but if they are at the 2024 Olympics, they will receive the first or second seeds, and therefore, they will not play with Ukraine in the group. Consequently, you can count on a good option here.
Can Ukraine’s draw be considered successful?
Rather not. Given that we could not get another European team, Argentina was the most robust option from the first basket. Morocco will have strong support in France, no worse than the hosts, and the Ukrainians will have to play under this pressure.
The match between Ukraine and Morocco will likely be decisive for exiting the group, and it is not wrong that, due to the calendar’s will, we start with a match with an Asian team. We will be able to “roll” into the tournament, after which we will play against Morocco.
Basketball in Ukraine Amidst the War
Another negative point: in the quarterfinals, our group B will play against group A, where the French national team will be represented. Therefore, in the last round of the group stage, if the fate of the group winner is decided, Argentina will play with us to win.
Thus, for Ukraine to qualify for a medal at its debut Olympic Games, it must beat the third Asian team, Morocco, and either overtake Argentina in the group or beat the Olympic hosts, France, in the quarterfinals.
However, let us remind you that we beat France in the quarterfinals of the European Championship, where we won a ticket to the Olympics. So, there is a chance for the Ukrainian Olympic football team to perform successfully at the Olympic Games in Paris. And will it work? We will observe.
Calendar of group B
07/24/2024
Argentina – Morocco (16:00, Saint-Etienne)
AFC-3 — Ukraine (20:00, Lyon)
07/27/2024
Argentina — AFC-3 (16:00, Lyon)
Ukraine – Morocco (18:00, Saint-Etienne)
30/07/2024
Ukraine – Argentina (18:00, Lyon)
Morocco — AFC-3 (18:00, Nice)
*Match start time is Kyiv time.
