Ainars Bagatskis learned his team's potential pathway to the 2027 Basketball World Cup following Tuesday's qualification draw ceremony in Doha, Qatar. The Ukraine national team coach now faces a challenging route after their unsuccessful Eurobasket 2025 qualification campaign.
Ukraine must first navigate through a pre-qualification group featuring Slovakia and Switzerland, with games scheduled to begin in August. The squad's performance in this initial stage will determine their subsequent opponents.
"Every game will be crucial in this format. We need to focus first on the pre-qualification opponents before thinking about the next stage," a representative from the Ukrainian Basketball Federation might note.
If Bagatskis' men top their pre-qualification group, they'll advance to qualification Group A, where basketball powerhouse Spain awaits alongside Georgia and one of the pre-qualification winners (either Croatia, Denmark, or Norway).
Alternatively, a second-place finish in pre-qualification would send Ukraine to Group C, setting up matchups against Serbia, Turkey, and Bosnia.
Interestingly, Qatar will host the World Cup tournament in 2027, marking another major sporting event for the Gulf nation following their hosting of various global competitions in recent years.
The main qualification tournament for the 2027 World Cup tips off in November. Can Bagatskis guide his squad through this complicated qualification maze? Ukrainian basketball fans will be watching closely.
