Ukraine defeats Scotland to keep World Cup hopes alive

Ukraine won the playoffs semi-final against Scotland to advance to the final that will decide their fate for the World Cup 2022

Ukraine was given extra time to prepare for the world cup qualifiers playoff matches. They faced Scotland in the playoff semi-finals and also won to advance to the playoffs final against Wales.

Viktor Tsyhankov took a brilliant strike in the 15th minute but the Scottish goalkeeper Craig Gordon was equal to it. He produced an outstanding save to deny the Ukrainian. The Scots grew into the game and started keeping the ball and dominating the play. Scotland went forward and saw Andy Robertson’s shot blocked as well as Mcginn’s shot out of target.

In the 32nd minute of the game, Ukrainian striker Yarmolenko, chipped off the goalkeeper to give Ukraine the lead. The solo run to the goal with a delicate chip was a beautiful goal.

In the second half, in the 49th minute, Roman Yaremchuk doubled their lead with a pinpoint header.

The pressure started piling over Scotland, and they tried to quickly respond to it. Scotland started dominating the play and took no. of shots at the goal. Some of them were inches away or very close to the goal. Ukraine’s goalkeeper had to produce a few brilliant saves to keep the Scottish players at bay.

Soon, in the 79th minute, Scotland found a way into the match as Mcgregor scored after a slight mistake from Ukraine’s goalkeeper.

Also read: Ukraine given extra time to prepare for the European playoff

The game got more intense, as Scotland pushed up the field more, in the ending stages of the game. Scotland’s Hanley missed a header that might have leveled the game.

In the 95th minute, Ukraine got a chance to counter, and they broke forward and scored the winning goal to kill the game. Substitute Artem Dovbyk scored the third goal and won the match for Ukraine.

Ukraine now faces Wales in the playoffs final for the 2022 Qatar World Cup qualification. Ukraine must be aware of the recent form of the Wales National team, as captain Gareth Bale scored two brilliant goals in their last match and would be desperate to represent his nation in the world cup as this might be his last chance.