The Ukrainian national team lost its chance to play in the 2026 World Championship, losing to the Swedish team with a 1:3 draw in the final playoff match.

This evening became a personal disappointment for the captain of the blue-greens, Illya Zabarny.. The leader, having failed the match, made an effective attempt, which led to a missed ball, and took away one of the highest scores among all the players on the field.

After the match, the captain shared his emotions and tried to relieve the painful pain:.

“I don’t know, it’s important to say. This is football, such important moments happen. Honestly, apparently, there’s nothing much to say. It just didn’t work out. I don’t know what I’m doing myself,” said the hisser.

On the ashes of the hidden failure, the captain saw the life of the young attacker:.

“I can see one positive moment - I want to emphasize that Ponomarenko was the best and scored a goal. Well done. May you continue in the same way. This is the only positive”, respecting Ilya.

Regardless of the important psychological aspect, Illya shouted to the stands for his faith in the team:.

" They encouraged us. Thank you for coming. I obviously wanted to give other emotions, but perhaps those that we can. We are a strong nation, we can withstand everything. And we will collapse further. "

The dream about the World Cup 2026 for our team, unfortunately, has ended. The Ukrainian national team has a friendly match against the Albanian national team ahead of them.