Ukraine vs Switzerland this Friday: Basketball World Cup qualifying kicks off
Ukraine’s national basketball team (photo: facebook.com/UkrBasket)
The Ukrainian men's national basketball team starts its campaign in the pre-qualifiers for the 2027 FIBA World Cup with a match against Switzerland. Here's when to watch the game.
Ukraine begins its path to the 2027 World Cup
The previous cycle ended unsuccessfully for the national team, as they failed to qualify for EuroBasket 2025.
As a result, Ainars Bagatskis' team begins the new qualification cycle from one of the lowest levels of European qualification.
Following the draw, the blue-and-yellow team was placed in Group A, where they will face national teams from Switzerland and Slovakia. Two of the three teams will advance to the next round, while the last-place team will drop to the lowest division.
The Ukrainian delegation arrived in Switzerland on August 4 and has already held a training session at the "Site Sportif Saint-Léonard" arena in Fribourg.
There, the team will play its first qualification match against the hosts on August 6 at 8:00 PM Kyiv time.
Ukraine's home games in the pre-qualifiers will be played on August 9 and 16 in Riga.
Ukraine's match schedule in Group A of the 2027 World Cup pre-qualifiers:
- August 6, 8:00 PM Kyiv time: Switzerland vs Ukraine
- August 9, 5:00 PM: Ukraine vs Slovakia
- August 16, 5:00 PM: Ukraine vs Switzerland
- August 20, 7:00 PM: Slovakia vs Ukraine
Earlier, we wrote about why an NBA player refused to play for Ukraine's national team.
