Ukraine’s football team plays for the first time at the Olympics and loses to Iraq
24 July 2024 23:25
Today, on 24 July, the Ukrainian national football team played its first ever match at the Olympic Games. Ukrainian footballers lost to a team from Iraq with a score of 2:1. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to the IOC website.
The teams played the first half without scoring. On 53 minutes, the Ukrainians opened the scoring.
Iraq scored almost immediately when Ayman Hussein converted a penalty. Ruslan Rotan’s team allowed the opponents to take the lead in the 75th minute, when Ali Jassim scored.
The match was refereed by an international refereeing team led by Sudanese Mahmoud Ismail.
In another Group B match, Argentina sensationally lost to Morocco1-2.
The Ukrainian national football team will play its next match at the Olympics against Morocco on 27 July.
Ukraine’s national football team at the 2024 Olympics
In the summer of 2023, after defeating France 3-1 in the quarter-final match of Euro 2023 and qualifying for the semi-finals, Ukraine achieved a historic success – winning the right to play in the Olympic football tournament for the first time. Ukraine was placed in Group B alongside Argentina, Morocco and Iraq.
Participants in the men’s football tournament of the 2024 Olympic Games will compete from 24 July to 9 August in seven cities in France: Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Saint-Etienne, Nice and Nantes, the Ukrainian Football Association said.
27.07.2024
Argentina – Iraq (16:00, Lyon)
Ukraine – Morocco (18:00, Saint-Etienne)
30.07.2024
Ukraine – Argentina (18:00, Lyon)
Morocco – Iraq (18:00, Nice)
The start time of the matches is Kyiv time.
The two best teams in Group B will take on the representatives of Group A.
Olympics 2024. Men’s football tournament
Group A: France, USA, Guinea, New Zealand.
Group B: Argentina, Morocco, Iraq, Ukraine.
Group C: Uzbekistan, Spain, Egypt, Dominican Republic.
Group D : Japan, Paraguay, Mali, Israel.
The format of the Olympic tournament is traditional: competition in four groups of four teams, with the two strongest teams going to the playoffs, followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals, third place match and the final (9 August, Paris, Parc des Princes).
Ukraine at the Olympic Games
Ukraine will be represented by 140 athletes in Paris, which is an anti-record for our national team. The previous one was set in 2021 in Tokyo, when Ukraine had 155 athletes.
Ukrainians will compete in 23 sports. Distribution of Ukrainian athletes by sport:
- Athletics – 25
- Football – 18
- Diving – 9
- Rowing (kayaking, canoeing and rowing slalom) – 9
- Wrestling (freestyle and Greco-Roman) – 9
- Rhythmic gymnastics – 6
- Rowing – 6
- Artistic gymnastics – 6
- Tennis – 6
- Shooting (bullet and bench) – 6
- Fencing – 6
- Swimming – 5
- Judo – 5
- Cycling (road mountain bike) – 4
- Boxing – 3
- Breaking – 3
- Modern pentathlon – 3
- Table tennis – 3
- Rock climbing – 2
- Artistic swimming – 2
- Archery – 2
- Badminton – 1
- Weightlifting – 1
During the full-scale war, Russia has killed at least 479 Ukrainian athletes and coaches. More than 3000 athletes and coaches are defending Ukraine at the frontline.
Where to watch
In Ukraine, the Olympic Games will be broadcast by Suspilne Sport and local Suspilne TV channels. The Suspilne Sport website will offer four additional streams of the competition with a Ukrainian commentator. The Olympic Games will also be broadcast by Eurosport and Radio Promin.
