The most important information (click to go)
The national teams of Ukraine and France will kick off their meeting at Tarczyński Arena on Friday 5th September at 8:45 p.m. The match in Wroclaw will be the first to be played in Group D of the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in Mexico, USA and Canada.
The defending WC runners-up France are the favourites, but the Ukrainians will certainly want to show their best side. Especially because they will be the host of the match. In addition, there are thousands of Ukrainians living in Wroclaw and more than a million in Poland as a whole, and many fans with yellow and blue flags can be expected.
Worth a billion more
If we were to look only at the price of the players, we could safely bet on the French national team as the winners. According to the Transfermarkt portal, it is currently worth €1.3 billion. In comparison, the Ukrainian national team is currently valued at €331 million. The difference is, therefore, almost one billion euros.
The most expensive player in the French team is Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe worth €180 million, while his national teammate Michel Olise (Bayern Munich) costs an equal €100 million. Among the Ukrainians, defender Iliya Zabarnyi, who currently plays in France’s Paris PSG, is the most expensive with the value of €42 million. His attacking colleague Artem Dovbyk (AS Roma) is valued at €30 million.
The history of performances at the World Cup also gives a big advantage to the French national team, which will defend its title as runner-up and has already become world champion twice. Ukraine managed to advance to the World Cup only once in 2006. However, our eastern neighbours played brilliantly there. They were one of the surprises of the tournament and reached the quarter-finals.
Three kings vs Ukraine
Certainly one of the biggest stars of the current Ukrainian national team is its coach Sergiy Rebrov. The legendary Dynamo Kyiv player, who played in the Champions League semi-finals in the 1998–1999 season, has led the national team for two years.
An outstanding player of the squad is Artem Dovbyk, who played a great season at Spain’s Girona and now plays for AS Roma. If he is in good form, the Ukrainian team is a threat to everyone. An important figure is 22-year-old defender Iliya Zabarnyi, who knows French football very well as a current player of Paris Saint Germain.
The French national team abounds in great players. Among them is the biggest star – the king of dribbling and Real Madrid Kylian Mbappe. Then we have another striker, the extremely fast Parisian king PSG’s Ousman Dembele. Finally, stalwart defender and king of Milan – Inter’s Marcus Thuram.
We could go on for a long time. To put it simply, France has an astounding team at the moment. The Ukrainians can stop them with their emblematic fighting spirit, which will be backed up by the cheering of thousands of fans in yellow and blue. The Ukrainian football authorities are calling for it.
‘Cheer on the Ukrainian national team, dress in blue and yellow and bring along acceptable patriotic goodies!’ reads the official website of the Ukrainian Football Association.
Why is Ukraine playing in Poland?
Surely many of you are wondering why Ukraine plays its matches in Poland. This is because of war. Russia's aggression against Ukraine has been going on since February 2022. In the UEFA safety regulations, the case is clear. International matches in conflict zones are prohibited.
As a result, Ukraine cannot play home games in its territory. At the same time, UEFA chose the so-called 'alternate host' country. Poland, as a close neighbour and a country in solidarity with Ukraine, was the natural choice.
In addition to the match against France, the Ukrainians have decided to play other matches in our country in the World Cup 2026 qualifiers. Later this year they will play twice against Azerbaijan in Krakow and further two matches in Warsaw against Iceland.
Extra transport service for the Ukraine – France match
In connection with the football match scheduled for 5th September 2025, as part of the qualifiers for the World Cup 2026 between Ukraine and France at Tarczyński Arena in Wroclaw, before and after the match, the Department of Transport of the Wroclaw City Office has planned to launch special tram lines T1 and T2 and special bus lines S1 and S2.
TRANSPORT TO TARCZYŃSKI ARENA (LOTNICZA)
T1 (special tram line)
The line will run from around 6:15 p.m. till 8:30 p.m. (last departure from the Wrocław Główny railway station), approximately every 10 minutes.
From 6:15 p.m. till 7:15 p.m. on the route:
- DWORZEC GŁÓWNY – Piłsudskiego – plac Legionów – Piłsudskiego – plac Orląt Lwowskich – Podwale – plac Jana Pawła II – Podwale – Most Sikorskiego – Mostowa – Jagiełły – Dmowskiego – Długa – Starogroblowa – Popowicka - Pilczycka - GÓRNICZA
From 7:15 p.m. till 8:30 p.m. on the route:
- DWORZEC GŁÓWNY – Piłsudskiego – plac Legionów – Piłsudskiego – plac Orląt Lwowskich – Podwale – plac Jana Pawła II – Podwale – Most Sikorskiego – Mostowa – Jagiełły – Dmowskiego – Długa – Starogroblowa – Popowicka - Pilczycka - TARCZYŃSKI ARENA (KRÓLEWIECKA);
- TARCZYŃSKI ARENA (KRÓLEWIECKA) – Królewiecka - Pilczycka – Popowicka – Starogroblowa – Długa – Dmowskiego – Jagiełły – Mostowa – Most Sikorskiego – Podwale - plac Jana Pawła II - Podwale – plac Orląt Lwowskich – Piłsudskiego – Stawowa – Borowska – Gliniana – Hubska – Pułaskiego – Małachowskiego - Piłsudskiego - DWORZEC GŁÓWNY
T2 (special tram line)
The line will run from around 18:15 till 20:30 (last departure from the ‘Galeria’ stop), approximately every 10 minutes on the route:
- GALERIA DOMINIKAŃSKA – Oławska – Kazimierza Wielkiego – Świętego Mikołaja – plac Jana Pawła II – Legnicka – Lotnicza – Kosmonautów – mosty Średzkie – Średzka – Płońskiego – LEŚNICA
- LEŚNICA – Płońskiego – mosty Średzkie – Kosmonautów - Lotnicza – Legnicka – pl. Jana Pawła II – Ruska – Kazimierza Wielkiego – Oławska – Galeria Dominikańska (nawrót na placu Społecznym)
S2 (special bus line)
The line will run from around 6:15 p.m. till 8:30 p.m. (last departure from the ‘Rynek’ stop at the Market Square), approximately every 10 minutes on the route:
- RYNEK – Białoskórnicza – Świętego Mikołaja – plac Jana Pawła II – Legnicka – Lotnicza – Kosmonautów - Astronomiczna – KOSMONAUTÓW (PĘTLA)
- KOSMONAUTÓW (PĘTLA) – Astronomiczna – Kosmonautów – Lotnicza – Legnicka – plac Jana Pawła II – Ruska – Białoskórnicza – RYNEK
Line S2 will not serve 'Glinianki' stops (numbers 18101 and 18102) during transport to Tarczyński Arena.
RETURN TRANSPORT FROM THE TARCZYŃSKI ARENA TERMINUS (KRÓLEWIECKA):
T1 (special tram line)
The line will run approximately every 3–6 minutes after the match (from around 10:45 p.m.) on the route:
- TARCZYŃSKI ARENA (KRÓLEWIECKA) – Pilczycka – Popowicka – Starogroblowa – Długa – Dmowskiego – Jagiełły – Mostowa – Most Sikorskiego – pl. Jana Pawła II - Ruska – Kazimierza Wielkiego – Oławska – Traugutta – pl. Wróblewskiego – Pułaskiego – Małachowskiego – Piłsudskiego – DWORZEC GŁÓWNY;
S1 (special bus line)
The line will run approximately every 3 minutes after the end of the match (from around 10:45 p.m.), on the route:
- TARCZYŃSKI ARENA (KRÓLEWIECKA) – Królewiecka – Śląska – Lotnicza - Legnicka – pl. Jana Pawła II – Ruska – Kazimierza Wielkiego – Oławska – Podwale – Dworcowa - DWORZEC GŁÓWNY (DWORCOWA)
Line S1 will not serve the ‘Pilczyce’ stop (number 12506) during return transport.
RETURN TRANSPORT FROM TARCZYŃSKI ARENA (LOTNICZA):
T2 (special tram line)
The line will run approximately every 3–5 minutes after the match (from around 10:45 p.m.) on the route:
- TARCZYŃSKI ARENA (LOTNICZA) - Lotnicza – Legnicka – plac Jana Pawła II – Podwale – plac Orląt Lwowskich – Piłsudskiego – plac Legionów – Piłsudskiego – Kołłątaja - Skargi - GALERIA DOMINIKAŃSKA
Until the start of return transport service, T2 trams will run on the Pilczyce - Leśnica - Pilczyce route, serving all stops along the way.
S2 (special bus line)
The line will run approximately every 3–5 minutes after the match (from around 10:45 p.m.) on the route:
- KOSMONAUTÓW PĘTLA – Astronomiczna - Kosmonautów – Lotnicza – Legnicka - plac Jana Pawła II – Ruska – Kazimierza Wielkiego – Oławska – Podwale – Dworcowa – DWORZEC GŁÓWNY (DWORCOWA)
Line S2 will not serve ‘Glinianki"’ stops (numbers 18101 and 18102) during return transport.
Match tickets, TV coverage
Tickets went on sale on 22 July and are available at mticket.co.uk and TicketsBox. Prices range from £80 to £200. One person can buy maximum four tickets. Tickets are not exchangeable or refundable.
After purchase, the ticket will be sent to the relevant e-mail address. You need to print it out in good quality or download it to your phone before the match. The stadium gates will open at 6:45 p.m. Read more about tickets here.
TV coverage on Friday, 5th September in:
- TVP Sport – from 8:40 p.m. onwards
- Polsat Sport 1 – from 8:35 p.m.
