Ukraine are just a win away from a dream World Cup appearance after beating Scotland in Wednesday night's play-off semi-final. The Blue and Yellow secured an emotional but deserved 3-1 victory at Hampden Park, and will battle Wales for a place at Qatar 2022 on Sunday.
Right from the word go, there was very little indication that Ukraine were going to fumble in their quest for an appearance since 2006. Goals from Andriy Yarmolenko, Roman Yaremchuk, and Artem Dovbyk propelled the visitors in the right direction at Hampden Park, although Callum McGregor's 79th minute goal handed the game a nervy ending.
It's 24 years and counting since Scotland last appeared in a World Cup and the wait will go on after tonight's loss. For Ukraine, the stage is now set for them to feature in the all-important play-off final with Wales on Sunday. A win will guarantee them a spot at the mundial since their quarter-final exit in Germany some 16 years ago.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the night's win, Manchester City star Oleksandr Zinchenko revealed how much the win meant to Ukrainians all over the world.
"To be fair, obviously everyone knows the situation in Ukraine, and every single game for us is like a final game," he said.
"But we dream like a team to be at the World Cup, and we have one more game, one more final, and we need to win it, we need to take it, otherwise this game is not going to mean anything.
"We played quite well, apart from maybe 20 minutes in the second half. Scotland is a great team. They play an open game, not our style, but we did well, scoring three goals and we could have scored another.
"Wales is going to be a massive game for us. We need to show the best performance in our lives, and we'll see what will happen."
