Iceland vs Ukraine prediction: EUROPE: World Cup – Qualification betting tips on match 2025-10-09 18:45.
[p]Iceland will be looking to return to winning ways in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying (WCQ) group when they face Ukraine in ReykjavĂk. [/p]
[p]Match News and Current Form[/p]
[p]Iceland thrashed Azerbaijan 5-0 to get their WCQ campaign off to the best possible start last month, before being brought down to earth four days later with a 2-1 defeat against France at the Parc des Princes. Head coach Arnar Gunnlaugsson will take many positives from that narrow defeat, ahead of what could be a keenly-contested battle for a top-two finish in Group D. The Nordic nation are now looking for back-to-back home wins for the first time since October 2023 in a quest to reach only their third-ever major tournament, having previously made just one World Cup in 2018. [/p]
[p]Ukraine are currently winless in their WCQ campaign after losing 2-0 to France in a designated home fixture held in Poland, before surrendering a lead to draw 1-1 away in Azerbaijan. The Eastern Europeans have participated in five major tournaments in their history as an independent nation, but with four of them being UEFA European Championships, their desire to end a 20-year wait for a World Cup finals appearance in North America next summer will be as strong as ever. [/p]
[p]Head-to-Head History[/p]
[p]Ukraine have the upper hand in this H2H (W2, D2, L1), winning the most recent meeting 2-1 to reach Euro 2024. [/p]
[p]Hot Stats and Streaks[/p]
[p]None of Iceland’s last nine games have ended in a draw (W3, L6). [/p]
[p]Six of the last seven red cards in Iceland’s games have gone to the home side on the day. [/p]
[p]Seven of Ukraine’s last nine matches have seen both teams score. [/p]
[p]Ukraine’s last eight goals have all come in the second half. [/p]
[p]Key Players to Watch and Missing Players[/p]
[p]Andri GuĂ°johnsen, son of Chelsea legend EiĂ°ur, opened the scoring against France, meaning that his last seven goalscoring appearances for club or country have seen both teams find the net. Georgiy Sudakov netted the opener for Ukraine last month against Azerbaijan – one of seven of his last eight goals for club or country to have arrived after half-time. [/p]
[p]Iceland captain Orri Óskarsson withdrew from September’s internationals with a thigh injury and continues to be unavailable, while Ukraine’s Roman Yaremchuk is still ruled out due to a calf problem. [/p]
[p]For all the latest team news, please check the Flashscore match centre.[/p]
[p]Betting Analysis[/p]
[p]Ukraine have not received a yellow card before the break in six of their last seven games, so fewer than 1.5 first-half cards in total for the two sides is our prediction here. [/p]
[p][i]Author: Alex Bowmer[/i][/p]