Ukraine vs Sweden: prediction & betting odds 26 March 2026

Ukraine National Football Team Form

Ukraine qualified for the play-offs thanks to the second place they finished in during the World Cup qualifying campaign. In their group, the national team lost twice to France, drew with Azerbaijan and also picked up three wins. In their history, Ukraine have reached the World Cup finals only once, back in 2006, when the team made it to the quarter-finals. In addition, Ukraine have had five more attempts to qualify for the World Cup via play-offs, but lost on every occasion. In 2022, the national team missed out on a World Cup berth after losing to Wales (0:1).

• Ukraine avoided defeat in four of their previous five World Cup qualifiers (three wins and one draw).
• At least two goals have been scored in Ukraine's last six World Cup qualifying matches.
• The national team have conceded in seven of their previous eight matches in this qualification campaign.

Potential Ukraine Lineup (4-3-2-1)

Anatoliy Trubin – Illia Zabarnyi, Valeriy Bondar, Vitaliy Mykolenko, Oleksandr Tymchyk – Ivan Kaliuzhnyi, Mykola Shaparenko, Yehor Yarmoliuk – Oleksandr Zubkov, Heorhiy Sudakov – Vladyslav Vanat.

Due to suspension, midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi and defender Yukhym Konoplia are unavailable. Through injury, defenders Mykola Matviienko, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Maksym Taloverov will miss the match, along with forward Artem Dovbyk.

Sweden National Football Team Form

The Scandinavians, meanwhile, failed in the qualifying campaign. In their group, the team finished bottom without a single win (two draws and four defeats). Sweden ended up behind Slovenia and Kosovo, as well as Switzerland. The national team also conceded the most in their group – an average of two goals per match. However, Sweden reached the play-offs thanks to a strong performance in the Nations League. The team won League C and secured the best position due to a higher Nations League ranking. It is also worth noting that Sweden have played at the World Cup 12 times, but they missed the last tournament. In 2018, they managed to reach the quarter-finals.

• Sweden are on a 10-match winless run in World Cup qualification (three draws and seven defeats).
• No more than two goals were scored in nine of Sweden's previous 11 matches in this tournament.
• The Scandinavians have not scored more than one goal in their last five matches in this qualifying campaign.

Potential Sweden Lineup (4-4-2)

Kristoffer Nordfeldt – Carl Starfelt, Victor Lindelof, Isak Hien, Gabriel Gudmundsson – Besfort Zeneli, Hugo Larsson, Gustaf Lundgren, Anthony Elanga – Viktor Gyokeres, Benjamin Nygren.

Due to injuries, forwards Alexander Isak and Dejan Kulusevski are unavailable, as are defenders Emil Krafth and Emil Holm, and goalkeeper Viktor Johansson.

Referee

Joao Pinheiro (Portugal)

Matches – 10 (International matches, 2025/26);

Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 38;

Average yellow cards per match – 3.8;

Red cards shown – 2;

Fouls per match on average – 22;

Penalties – 10%.