Brazhko joins national team from reserve list: why Maldera's call-up is not a routine substitution
Vladimir Brazhko has been called up to the national team to replace injured Yegor Yarmolyuk. Under the circumstances, this is more than a mere administrative formality: the Dynamo player is getting a chance at his debut call-up under the new coach.
By Tetiana Suchkova-Ladik
May 25, 2026 · 2 min read
Halfback of Kyiv's Dynamo Volodymyr Brazhko will join Ukraine's squad for matches against Poland (May 31, Wrocław) and Denmark (June 7, Odense). The call-up is forced: Yegor Yarmolyuk from Brentford is injured and will miss the May-June training camp.
Reserve turning into a starter
Notably, Brazhko was included in the reserve list of Andrea Maldeira's original squad — alongside Nazar Voloshyn (Dynamo), Dmytro Kryskyv (Shakhtar), Igor Krasnopir (Polissia), and Maksym Khlan (Górnik). In other words, the coaching staff had already evaluated him — and considered him as an option even before the need arose.
For Maldeira, this is the first full training camp since his appointment on May 18. The contract is signed for two years with an extension option — and these two friendlies are essentially the first live test of his vision for the team. Every player in the squad gets a chance to establish themselves or disappear.
Yarmolyuk: club instability as a systemic problem
The Yarmolyuk situation is not isolated. According to Tribuna.com, Brentford already had a conflict with the UAF over releasing the player for the U-21 Euros: the club initially blocked his departure. This time the reason is injury, not a dispute, but the overall picture remains the same: Yarmolyuk rarely makes it to the national team without complications. In the 2024/25 Premier League season, Brentford finished without European football.
Due to injury, the Brentford player will miss the training camp in May-June and matches against Poland and Denmark.
— Ukrainian Football Association
What Brazhko gets
- Two friendly matches against top-tier UEFA nations — Poland and Denmark
- The opportunity to move from reserve to Maldeira's main pool for official matches
- Status as a player the coaching staff already knew — the call-up is not random
Notably, alongside Brazhko in the original squad — there is no right-back, which itself became a topic of discussion after the list was announced. Maldeira is building a team around a specific idea, not following conventional positional patterns.
If Brazhko gets minutes in both matches and doesn't get lost against opponents from top leagues — the question about his place in the main squad for official autumn matches will become practical, not rhetorical.
