Former star of Real Madrid and the German national team Toni Kroos He determined the favorites of the World Cup and evaluated the chances of Brazil and Germany:

“World Cup? The main favorites are Spain, Portugal, France and Morocco. I’m not talking about Brazil, but it could happen. It’s good that a large number of teams are participating, but I am now against increasing the number of participants. We need to protect the players and the quality of the tournament. With more teams there will be obvious scores and these are not the kind of matches that fans want to see. Quality matches are important for me, not 5:0 or 6:0. Players come to the tournament tired and play more matches, the level drops a little.

Is Ancelotti in Brazil? He could have left a year ago, but he stayed at Real Madrid. I talked to him throughout the summer and wished him luck. He really wanted to coach Brazil, I hope everything goes well for him. Brazil has top-level players like Vini with valuable experience.

Neymar? The important thing is when it is 100%. He may experience a lack of rhythm in the game due to the injuries he has experienced in recent years. Now he’s injured again, he only has 6 months left. If he is fit he can help any team in the world.

Team Germany? I think Germany is always among the favorites, but not among the main ones. “I’m sure they will at least reach the quarter-finals or semi-finals, but the level is a little lower, although everything is possible in football,” he said.

UAF President Andrey Shevchenko He talked about the match against the Swedish national team in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

“When we were drawn against Sweden we probably faced our toughest opponent. I have great respect for Swedish football, you have always had good national teams and great players.”

“It’s always difficult to face Scandinavian teams, even though you don’t qualify for the World Cup, because you have so much quality, character and identity. This is similar to us to some extent. I don’t think there are favourites. In the end it all depends on the details, the injury situation and the preparations,” said Shevchenko.

In case of victory, Ukraine will play with the winner of the Poland-Albania doubles for a ticket to the World Cup. Ukraine will play the final match at home on March 31, again conditionally.

In addition to the 12 teams that finished second in their groups, the 4 winners of the Nations League quartet will also participate in the play-offs. All 16 participants are divided into 4 paths. Each route will include a semi-final and a final. The semi-finals will be held on March 26, and the finals will be held on March 31, 2026.

UAF President Andrey Shevchenko He pointed out the significant financial costs of organizing the Ukrainian national team’s “home” matches outside the country.

“Hosting such meetings costs us an enormous amount of money and we are deprived of the opportunity to assemble a full stadium. In fact, the cost of a so-called home match at a neutral venue costs around five times more than a regular match.”

Our sponsors are located in a country where the struggle continues, so their financial resources are seriously limited.

I cannot approach the government with requests for additional funding.

We are forced to work tightly within the available budget and rely on the support of private donors, especially when it comes to social initiatives,” the UAF president told Dagens Nyheter.

During the current year, the Ukrainian national team played its official home matches in stadiums in Spain and Poland.