Resilient Ukraine look to boost World Cup hopes as they take on Nordic rivals Finland

Coming off the back of two solid performances on match days four and five of the World Cup Qualifiers against Kazakhstan and France respectively, Ukraine, bubbling with confidence, will be looking to further their chances of a World Cup berth as they face Finland on October 9 in the Finnish capital Helsinki.

UEFA announced the draw for the qualifiers in Zurich in a virtual event held in December 2020. Teams were placed in ten groups of five or six, with the winners of each group making it to the final stages of the World Cup directly, and the runners-up will enter the play-off stages with two teams from the UEFA Nations League.

Ukraine will be hopeful of a good performance on Matchday 6 as they look to solidify their spot in the playoff stages. According to ua-football.com, a win could be vital to seal Ukraine’s playoff hopes.

Ukraine have been very solid thus far in the Qualifiers group stages, drawing each of their five games, which also includes two fixtures against defending World Champions France. This would give them an abundant amount of confidence heading into the all-important fixture on Saturday. 

Ukraine’s showing in the World Cup Qualifiers: check livescore, football updates

The Ukraine national team kicked off their World Cup Qualifiers group stage campaign against France, where the Ukrainians held the world champions to a draw thanks to a crucial second-half goal from Serhiy Sydorchuk. Matchday 2 saw the Ukraine side lose out on a win, as a controversial red card incident followed by a Teemu Pukki penalty goal for Finland ensured a draw. The Ukrainians will be looking to seal the victory against the Finnish side this time around in the reverse fixture. Scores and match events can be viewed on the Livescore football online portal at  ua-football.

The second round of Qualifier fixtures took place in April this year, where Ukraine drew 1-1 to Kazakhstan, with good performances from Roman Yaremchuk and Manchester City full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko. 

Ukraine had a good showing in the UEFA Euro 2020 held earlier this year, making it past the group stages, and beating Sweden in a thrilling Round of 16 encounter before losing in the Quarter-finals to eventual finalists England. 

The upcoming round of the World Cup Qualifier Group stage fixtures will see Ukraine taking on Finland and Edin Dzeko-led Bosnia and Herzegovina, and livescore, football updates for all games including these will be available on online portals. Two wins out of two in this round will guarantee the Ukrainians a place in the play-off stages of the World Cup Qualifiers, and they would be looking to do just that. 

Ukrainian fans and supporters will be hoping for a strong performance in the upcoming fixtures, which could motivate them to a good showing at the World Cup in Qatar in late 2022, on the back of their impressive showing at the Euros.