On Friday, October 10, the Ukrainian national team met with Iceland in their third match as part of the 2026 World Cup qualification. Sergei Rebrov's team secured a two-goal advantage at the end of the first half, which they lost in the second half, but still finished off the opponent in a productive confrontation with a score of 5:3. Ukraine took the lead in the 14th minute when Vitaliy Mykolenko walked along his left flank and passed the ball into the penalty area to Ruslan Malinovsky, who touched the ball into the net. Source: Getty Images Iceland fought back and were close to turning things around in the 28th minute, but Albert Gudmundsson's shot hit the crossbar. Nevertheless, the home team achieved their goal in the 34th minute, when Anatoly Trubin failed to cope with Mikael Ellertsson's shot into the near corner. Source: Getty Images Soon the “blue-yellows” were also left without Georgy Sudakov, who was forced to be replaced by Naraz Voloshin due to injury. Nevertheless, the end of the first half remained with the Ukrainians, who hit the opponents’ goal twice more. First, in the 45th minute, Alexey Gutsulyak successfully shot from the goal line with a turn, and soon Malinovsky marked his return to the national team with a double, firing from outside the penalty area into the right corner. Source: Getty Images In the second half of the match, the Icelandic team showed character and managed to return to the game, restoring parity in the confrontation. In the 59th minute, Albert Gudmundsson headed a cross into the penalty area while falling, and in the 75th minute he scored a double, shooting low from the penalty area. Source: Getty Images Nevertheless, the Ukrainian team again gave a productive end to the half and the match as a whole, sending two more goals into the opponent’s goal. In the 85th minute, Ivan Kalyuzhny successfully shot from outside the penalty area, and in the 89th minute, Oleg Ocheretko also set the final result with a long-range strike. For both of them, these goals became their debut in the Ukrainian national team.. Source: Getty Images Ukraine won its first victory in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup and moved up to second place in Group D with four points. France leads the quartet, having won all three of its matches.. Iceland was left with three points, and Azerbaijan has one point.. Match statistics Iceland - Ukraine in the 2026 World Cup qualification Iceland - Ukraine 3:5 Goals: Ellertsson, 34, Gudmundsson, 59, 75 - Malinovsky, 14, 45+5, Gutsulyak, 45, Kalyuzhny, 85, Ocheretko, 89 Expected goals (xG): 1. 01 - 0. 62 Ball possession: 65% - 35% Shots: 9 - 8 Shots on target: 5 - 6 Corners: 4 - 2 Fouls: 11 - 13 Iceland:

Olafsson - Palsson, Ingason, Gretarsson, Ellertsson (Anderson 87) - Gudmundsson, Johannesson (Thordarson 87),. Ukraine: Trubin - Hemp, Zabarny, Matvienko, Mikolenko - Shaparenko (Ocheretko, 70), Kalyuzhny, Malinovsky (Bondarenko, 87) - Gutsulyak (Veleten, 87), Vanat (Dovbik, 70), Sudakov (Voloshin, 39). Warnings: Gudjohnsen - Matvienko, Konoplya, Mikolenko, Ocheretko. Ukraine got the better of Iceland in a crazy game - video of the defeat. News on Telegram and WhatsApp. Subscribe to our channels https://t. me/korrespondentnet and WhatsApp.