Malders Named the Ukrainian National Team’s Main Goal in the Nations League
Ukraine national team head coach Andrea Maldera explained what the team needs to focus on during the new Nations League season. According to him, it’s important for the players not to fixate solely on the final results of matches.
Maldera emphasized the need to maintain psychological balance regardless of the result—not to overemphasize the importance of victories and not to become overly negative after defeats.
The coach identified shaping the national team’s new identity and building a cohesive unit as a separate challenge. He noted that building a team that will eventually demonstrate high-quality play is his greatest challenge.
“It’s also important to shape the team’s identity, which is no easy task. To form a unified whole. The goal is also to build a team that will play well over time. For me personally, this is the biggest challenge,” said Maldera.
In the new Nations League season, Ukraine will compete in Division B. The team will play its first four matches during the extended September–October window.
On September 25, Ukraine will play away against Hungary, and on September 28, against Georgia. On October 2, the national team will face Northern Ireland, and on October 5, it will play a nominal home match against Hungary.
Source: Andrea Maldera.
Prior to this, Ukrainian forward Roman Yaremchuk was not included in Greek club Olympiacos’ roster for the Champions League third qualifying round matches against Dutch club Nijmegen.
As a reminder, UEFA has appointed the refereeing crews for both of Kyiv’s Dynamo’s matches against Azerbaijan’s Qarabağ in the third qualifying round of the 2026/2027 Conference League. The first leg in Lublin on August 6 will be officiated by a Danish crew led by Morten Krog, while the second leg in Baku on August 13 will be officiated by English referees led by Stuart Attwell.
