Hungary and Ukraine open their UEFA Nations League (UNL) campaigns with both sides looking to rebuild after missing out on the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Match News and Current Form
Hungary were absent from a tenth successive World Cup in the summer but have stuck with head coach Marco Rossi, who also oversaw their relegation from League A of the UNL in the previous cycle. Their demotion came via a pair of play-off losses to Turkey, and bouncing back will be no foregone conclusion with a number of key players absent from the Magyars’ squad here. This could then be an ideal chance for Rossi to blood some of the new faces he’s introduced to the squad given that Hungary are unbeaten at home in 2026 (W3, D1) and have only lost one of their last eight fixtures at any venue (W5, D2).
Andrea Maldera becomes the first foreign Ukraine manager to take charge of a competitive international here as they set out on a third successive campaign in League B. The Blue and Yellow missed a fifth straight World Cup in the summer after a qualifying play-off loss to Sweden, while their last UNL campaign saw them miss out on promotion to the top-tier thanks to a 4-3 aggregate play-off loss to Belgium in which they squandered a 3-1 lead from the first leg! A result either way looks likely as Ukraine haven’t drawn any of their last eight games (W5, L3), while they’ve only won two of their last seven competitive fixtures as the away side (D2, L3).
Head-to-Head History
Hungary won both previous H2Hs, a pair of friendlies held in 1992, the first of which was Ukraine’s first international as an independent nation.
Hot Stats and Streaks
Hungary scored exactly twice in five of their last six competitive games (W2, D2, L2).
Only one of Hungary’s last four home games featured scoring before the 20th minute.
Ukraine scored between the 40th and 50th minute in each of their last three matches.
In each of Ukraine’s last three games as the designated away side, the scoring was confined to one half.
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Hungary captain Dominik Szoboszlai has scored in two of Liverpool’s last four fixtures and his nation is unbeaten across his last 14 goalscoring appearances (W11, D3). Matviy Ponomarenko could be dangerous late on for Ukraine given three of his last four goals came after the 80th minute, as did his only previous international strike.
Callum Styles is sidelined for Hungary alongside Roland Sallai and Barnabás Varga. Yukhym Konoplya and Artem Dovbyk are among Ukraine’s most high-profile missing players.
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Betting Analysis
With neither side at full strength, this could be a close contest, but backing Hungary to win given their recent home form stands out as a solid choice.
Author: John Pennington
