The Ukrainian national team is now just one match away from qualifying for the 2022 World Cup after a superior display and a deserved 3-1 victory over Scotland at Hampden Park in Glasgow.Andriy Yarmolenko and Roman Yaremchuk scored in each half against the disoriented-looking Scots to book a place in the World Cup Qualifying Play-off final on Sunday.Celtic midfielder Callum McGregor set up a nerve-racking finish with a late goal, but the Scots failed to force extra time despite throwing everything at their determined opponents. Artem Dovbyk scored with the last kick of the match to seal the victory.Beautiful move and WHAT a finish from Yarmolenko btwOnce again this guy comes up trumps on the international stageHe LOVES playing for Ukraine3 goals away from equaling Shevchenko’s all time record pic.twitter.com/81AvXl8JTz— Zorya Londonsk (@ZoryaLondonsk) June 1, 2022 Apart from the noisy crowd in Glasgow, the home ground advantage didn’t seem to matter much in this match. It was the Ukrainian team that looked more focused and dangerous going forward.Scottish goalkeeper Craig Gordon was very busy indeed and was on hand to save a close-range effort from Yarmolenko with 16 minutes on the clock. The West Ham striker wouldn’t be denied, however, on the half-hour mark when he outran the Scottish backline and finished calmly to give Ukraine the well-deserved lead at Hampden Park.The only threat from the home side was an Andy Robertson’s snapshot from the left side that bounced in a busy penalty box with nobody quite close enough to it to divert it into the net. Scotland coach Steve Clarke was forced to find a way of stopping Oleksandr Zinchenko, who looked superior in midfield.Yaremchuk’s header was a classicLovely work down the right from Yarmolenko and Karavayev with another assist in Zbirna colours!Ukraine need to hold off this Scotland insurgency now 68’ 2-0 (most dangerous scoreline in football 🥵) pic.twitter.com/oKiHKlq42C— Zorya Londonsk (@ZoryaLondonsk) June 1, 2022 The visitors continued to plug away after the break and were quickly rewarded. Yarmolenko passed for Oleksandr Karavaev to cross for Benfica’s striker Roman Yaremchuk to dispatch a header past Gordon.Much was said ahead of the match as Bologna’s young full-back Aaron Hickey made his first start for the national team, with the coach praising the young talent. However, it was Hickey who was exposed time after time as the pressure on the home team rose.Ооох.. Нас чекають дуже важкі заключні хвилини у матчі 🥵Шотландія робить рахунок 1:2. Степаненко майже дістав м’яч 😱 pic.twitter.com/DvXXhvkZFA— Tribuna.com Україна (@tribunaua) June 1, 2022 The home side wouldn’t let this chance of making their first World Cup since 1998 slip easily. They pushed forward and had a golden chance to get back into the match. Scott McTominay’s cross was spilt by goalkeeper Georogiy Bushchan, presenting a free header for John McGinn. The Aston Villa midfielder headed agonisingly wide, prompting around 45,000 people to hold their heads in their hands.Callum McGregor scored one of the scrappiest goals you’ve ever seen to make it 2-1 with just over ten minutes to go to set up a thrilling end to the game. Suddenly, it was all Scotland.Roman Yaremchuk #SCOUKR pic.twitter.com/KUY6FcheFm— Faisal HQ (@iF2is) June 1, 2022 Substitute Artem Dovbyk scored another goal in the dying seconds to seal the victory after a well-player counter-attack. The away supporters were in ecstasy – and rightly so. Ukraine wins!The brave visitors are now on the brink of the promised land – Qatar in this case.WORLD CUP QUALIFYING PLAY-OFFWednesdayScotland – Ukraine 1-3 (0-1)/McGregor 79 – Yarmolenko 33, Yarermchuk 49, Dovbyk 90+5/Ukraine will play Wales on 5 June for a place in the World Cup finals.
