Ukraine Conclude Their Participation in the 2025 Canadian Shield Tournament with a Victory Over New Zealand
New Zealand and Ukraine sing their national anthems ahead of their match in the Canadian Shield Tournament. Photo Credit: Mark Temnycky
After a difficult match against Canada on June 7, the Ukrainians turned things around in their second match in the inaugural 2025 Canadian Shield Tournament with a narrow victory over New Zealand. The Ukrainians controlled the majority of possession in the game, which gave them more opportunities to threaten New Zealand’s goal. They were more defensively composed in this game, and it appeared they learned from their mistakes in the match against Canada.
Ukraine’s senior men’s national team manager Serhiy Rebrov significantly rotated his squad for this game. Several younger players competed. As a way of repaying their manager, these footballers were determined to make an impact as they hoped to earn a place in Ukraine’s squad during the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers this autumn.
The younger team began quickly at the start of the match. They strung together several passes, and they pressured New Zealand while they had possession. In addition, the crowd at BMO Field highly favored Ukraine, making the stadium in Toronto another de facto home game. The support from the crowd also helped inspire the Ukrainian national team.
Ukraine had their first attempt on goal in the fifteenth minute. Ukraine’s wingers were able to speed past New Zealand’s defense, and a cross was launched into the box. The attempt, though, was saved by New Zealand goalkeeper Max Crocombe. The Ukrainians then had another chance in the twenty-first minute, but Crocombe prevented the Ukrainians from scoring. The Ukrainians then came close to scoring in the thirtieth and thirty-first minutes, where several offensive players had time and space to threaten New Zealand’s goal. Hurried thinking and rushed shots, however, failed to produce results for Ukraine.
New Zealand then had an opportunity of their own late in the first half, launching a counterattack down the flanks of the pitch. Ukraine’s young defenders Bohdan Mykhaylychenko and Oleksandr Tymchyk were beaten by the counterattack launched by the All Whites. New Zealand’s attackers then delivered a cross into the box, but they failed to capitalize. The first half then ended 0-0.
When the second half began, Ukraine continued their high-intensity attack on the New Zealand defense. Their hard work was finally paid off in the fifty-fourth minute. During another press, Ukrainian defender Mykhaylychenko passed the ball inside to Ukrainian attacker Oleksiy Hutsulyak. He then scored. The stadium filled with Ukrainian supporters cheered, and Ukraine took the lead.
But the moment was short-lived. Moments after conceding, New Zealand put Ukraine on the back foot and began to pressure the Ukrainian goal by overloading the flanks. This resulted in a corner. As the ball was sent into the box, New Zealand defender Michael Boxall gathered the cross, and he headed it to his teammates. Midfielder Marko Stamenić received the headed ball from Boxall, and he nodded the ball past Ukrainian goalkeeper Andriy Lunin. The two teams were then level in the fifty-ninth minute.
Despite conceding this goal, the Ukrainians maintained their composure, and they dictated the flow of play in the match. Instead, they pushed forward as they sought to score another goal. Their best chances came in the sixty-second and sixty-ninth minutes, where the Ukrainians again surged past the New Zealand defense as they continuously found pockets of space and opportunities to shoot. Both attempts, however, were saved by Crocombe.
Ukraine’s resilience finally paid off, and the buildup to the goal was similar to how they organized their first score. As the Ukrainians found space and moved down the flanks, Ukrainian defender Oleksandr Martynyuk, who had substituted Mykhaylychenko, beat New Zealand defender Tyler Bindon. The Ukrainian then launched the ball into the box, and an unmarked Oleksandr Zinchenko smashed the ball home on a half-volley. The score made it 2-1 on the night, where the Ukrainians took the lead in the seventy-fifth minute. New Zealand hoped to find an equalizer, but the opportunity never came.
The match then ended with a 2-1 win for Ukraine over New Zealand. The result was not enough to see Ukraine win the inaugural Canadian Shield Tournament, but it did end Ukraine’s participation in the competition on a positive note.
Ukraine defeat New Zealand 2-1 at BMO Field in Toronto. Photo Credit: Mark Temnycky
Following the match, Ukrainian striker Roman Yaremchuk and defender Yevhen Cheberko answered questions from the media. They discussed their respective performances, the national team’s production on the night, and what had changed between the matches against Canada and New Zealand. The players stated that they watched game footage from the match against Canada to learn from these mistakes, and they executed a better plan against New Zealand. They added that participation in the Canadian Shield Tournament was productive, as it provided an opportunity to train and prepare for Ukraine’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification period in the autumn. Finally, they concluded that they were pleased to have delivered a victory for the Ukrainian fans in the stadium. They thanked the Ukrainian-Canadian community for their support throughout the match, as well as the tournament.
Ukraine’s senior men’s national team manager Serhiy Rebrov holds a press conference with reporters following his team’s 2-1 victory over New Zealand. Photo Credit: Mark Temnycky
The evening then concluded with a press conference with Rebrov. During the discussion, the Ukrainian manager thanked Canada for inviting them to participate in this inaugural tournament. He said participating in the Canadian Shield Tournament allowed his team an opportunity to practice and train against new opposition, and he was pleased with how his team performed in the match. He added that Ukraine played well overall during the June 2025 international break.
Rebrov then expressed a concern. While Ukraine performed well, they would now enter a three-month break between the international friendly competition in June and the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, which begin in September. He said that this did not give him and his squad much time to prepare, mainly as several players will rest during the summer break. But he was hopeful that they could take positive information from the games in June as Ukraine look to qualify for next year’s World Cup. He thanked the group for their questions, and the press conference came to a close. Such was the end to Ukraine’s participation in the inaugural Canadian Shield Tournament.
Mark Temnycky is a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center and a freelance journalist covering Eurasian affairs.