Today, September 9, the Ukrainian national football team will face Azerbaijan in the second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers at the Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium in Baku. The match will kick off at 19:00 Kyiv time, reports Baltimore Chronicle.
In the first round of Group D, Ukraine lost 0:2 to France in their nominal home match. Azerbaijan suffered a heavy defeat against Iceland with a 0:5 scoreline. Both teams therefore started the qualifying campaign with losses.
This upcoming match will mark the first official encounter between Ukraine and Azerbaijan. The teams have previously met twice in friendly matches: a 0:0 draw in Baku and a 6:0 victory for Ukraine in Kyiv. In both games, the Ukrainian team did not concede any goals.
Currently, Azerbaijan is ranked 122nd in the FIFA rankings, nearly 100 places below Ukraine, which occupies 26th position. The Azerbaijani team has not won a match since June 2024, when they defeated Kazakhstan in a friendly. Since then, they have played 11 games without a victory, including nine losses and two draws. Following the heavy defeat to Iceland, head coach Fernando Santos was dismissed, leaving Azerbaijan without a manager for today’s match. The team’s market value is estimated at 18 million euros, with five players playing abroad.
The Ukrainian squad, led by Serhiy Rebrov, has a total market value of 272.7 million euros. Nine players compete in foreign leagues. In the match against Azerbaijan, the Ukrainians will wear yellow kits, while their opponents will play in blue. Rebrov himself faced Azerbaijan as a player in February 2006 in Baku, coming on as a substitute for Andriy Voronin in the 46th minute.
The match can be watched live on the MEGOGO platform, as well as on the free “MEGOGO SPORT” channel in digital T2 broadcasting and on cable networks throughout Ukraine.
According to the qualifying rules, the winner of Group D will directly qualify for the 2026 World Cup, while the second-placed team will have a chance to reach the tournament through the playoffs. The World Cup will be held simultaneously in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, starting on June 11, 2026, with the final scheduled for July 19. The referee for the match will be Greek official Vasilis Fotias, who has extensive experience in international matches.
Earlier we wrote that Ukraine begins 2026 World Cup qualifiers: results, schedule, and format.
