The head of the Ukrainian Hockey Federation assesses the national team’s chances for a positive result as high
The president Ukrainian Hockey Federation Georgy Zubko told about the tasks Ukrainian national team in the third round Olympic Games 2026 qualificationand also shared his expectations from the upcoming tournament in Sosnowiec.
“This is the team’s first official tournament this year. Olympic qualification is always interesting. In general, we are in a good mood, so we set the goal to take, preferably, first place. At the moment, only from first place the team advances further.”
“There was a time when we always made it to the final round of the competition. The only thing I can say is that none of our opponents will have an easy time playing against us. We see the guys who came to the national team. We understand that this is not the most optimal composition of our team possible. However, I see and believe that every year we are becoming stronger.”
“In fact, we are going there to play three difficult games. Maybe it will be easier for us to play against Estonia if we do everything right. Maybe on paper some people think we are weaker, but we are capable of beating everyone. I see how our young guys are adding. I’ll say this – we have good chances to count on a positive result.”
Let us remind you that at the end of January, the coaching staff of the Ukrainian national hockey team decided on the final list of players who will prepare for the February 2026 Olympics qualifying matches.
On February 3, Dmitry Khristich’s team began their preparatory training camp. In the third round of Olympic qualification, the blue-yellows will play against the teams of Poland, South Korea and Estonia. The matches of this quartet will be held in Sosnowiec, Poland, from February 8 to 11, 2024.
From the qualifying quartet, only one team will advance to the final round of Olympic qualification. The final round is another group stage. Only the best teams in each quartet will qualify directly for the Olympic tournament in Milan, which will take place in February 2026.
Source: Sportarena
I’m Emma Smith, a dedicated journalist and avid storyteller. I have been writing for news websites for the past 5 years, reporting on hockey news and delivering in-depth analysis of the sport. In my current role as Author at Athletistic, I write about hockey events from around the world to keep followers up-to-date with what’s happening in the sport.
