Ukraine face Northern Ireland in a top of League B2 showdown in the 2026-27 UEFA Nations League.
Locked on four points apiece with Northern Ireland sat top above Ukraine purely on alphabetical order, victory would see Ukraine go top of the table.
Northern Ireland will stay top if they avoid defeat in this fixture.
Team News
Vitaliy Mykolenko has withdrawn from Ukraine’s squad after he suffered a leg injury during their 1-0 opening win over Hungary, which forced him to miss their 0-0 draw against Ukraine.
Northern Ireland have no fresh injury or suspension concerns to report after their 0-0 draw against Hungary.
When is Kick-Off?
Ukraine host Northern Ireland at Anton Malatinsky Stadium, Trnava, Slovakia, on Friday 2 October at 8:45pm CEST (7:45pm BST), live on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer across the UK.
Stat Attack
- This is Ukraine’s first Nations League meeting against Northern Ireland.
- Northern Ireland are meeting Ukraine on neutral territory for the first time outside of a major summer tournament – having previously won 2-0 when they met at UEFA Euro 2016 in Lyon, France.
- Both Ukraine and Northern Ireland are yet to concede in this group after two matches, having both won their opening matches 1-0 against Hungary and Georgia then drew 0-0 in their second group matches.
- No Ukraine player created more shots in their first two matches than Vladyslav Vanat (3).
- Northern Ireland’s Isaac Price has converted two of his six shots onto target without scoring in their opening two games.
Prediction
With both Ukraine and Northern Ireland having produced 1-0 wins and 0-0 draws in their opening two matches, this is going to be a huge test of their promotion credentials especially after wasteful displays against Georgia and Hungary respectively.
I am therefore expecting another tight battle such is the open nature in this group because both teams have shown their defensive resilience, but this could come down to whoever has the crucial polished final touch although I can see another draw coming.
Prediction: Ukraine 0-0 Northern Ireland