The 2026 FIFA World Cup evokes mixed emotions in the Ukrainian football community. The absence of the national team and the realities of the war leave their mark on the perception of the tournament, yet the sporting intrigue and large-scale innovations capture everyone’s attention. Kyiv Post gathered the opinions of football observers, coaches, as well as the star forward of the Ukraine national team, Artem Dovbyk, to find out what to expect from the upcoming World Cup.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. The main topic of discussion remains the expansion of the tournament to 48 participants. Roman Malchevsky, an English championship observer at Footboom, is skeptical, as he shared in an extensive comment for Kyiv Post. In his opinion, increasing the number of participants is a purely commercial decision, and moreover, absurd from a sporting point of view, as the difference in class between the teams reduces interest in the group stage. According to his forecast, real football will begin only in the playoffs. A similar restraint is shown by Illya Deulin, a football observer and author of the project Truskawkowa piłka. He noted that events off the pitch often overshadow the game itself. At the same time, he is intrigued by the participation of “dark horses” such as Uzbekistan. In contrast to them, the Ukraine national team forward Dovbyk expects an interesting and dynamic tournament with many unexpected results.