Ukraine keeps the World Cup dream alive by defeating Scotland

Ukraine keeps the World Cup dream alive by defeating Scotland. 

Ukraine defeated Scotland 3-1 in a playoff at Hampden Park on Wednesday, keeping its World Cup hopes alive. It was Ukraine’s first game since the Russian invasion of their nation.

Ukraine will now meet Wales in Cardiff on Sunday, with the victor earning a spot in the finals in Qatar in November. Scotland has not qualified for a World Cup since 1998 due to the defeat.

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Andriy Yarmolenko and Roman Yaremchuk scored to put a confident and powerful Ukraine ahead 2-0 until Callum McGregor equalized in the 79th minute for the Scots.

Scotland gained some confidence due to the goal, and they put some late pressure, but substitute Artem Dovbyk finished off a counter-attack deep into stoppage time to seal the win.

Oleksandr Petrakov, an impassioned Ukraine coach, claimed his squad competed for all those suffering at home.

“We performed for them,” he continued, “for those who battle to the last end, for those who suffer every day.”

“We made tiny steps toward our big goal,” he added. “We have the Wales game coming up, and we’ll accomplish everything people expect of us.”

It’s unclear if they’ll go to Doha following Sunday’s game. Still, they’ll have plenty of confidence after a strong performance.

After the invasion, Ukraine’s domestic competition was interrupted. The country’s home-based players had not played competitive football since December. 

Still, they were fast off the mark and gave Scotland issues right away.