Wales won the last ticket to the 2022 World Cup from the European zone. Gareth Bale et al beat Ukraine 1-0 in the playoff final, securing qualification for the first time since 1958.
Playing at Cardiff City Stadium, Sunday (5/6/2022), Ukraine appeared more pressing in the first half. Having almost 63 percent possession of the ball, Oleksandr Zinchenko et al had at least five shots on target.
Even so, everything was countered by Wayne Hennessey who was in charge of guarding the Wales goal. On the other hand, Ukraine was left behind in the 33rd minute.
Starting from Ruslan Malinovsyi’s violation of Daniel James which resulted in a free kick, Bale, who was the executor of the dead ball, fired a shot towards the Ukrainian goal.
The ball hit Andriy Yarmolenko, but the rebound went into the visitors’ goal, which was guarded by Georgiy Bushchan. Score 1-0 for Wales lasted until the break.
In the second half, Ukraine continued to press. In the 55th minute, Vitaliy Mykolenko’s crossing into the Wales goal was met by Viktor Tsygankov with a flick, but Hennessey swiftly blocked the ball with his feet.
Wales did not want to remain silent. Through a quick attack in the 62nd minute, James had a chance in front of the Ukrainian goal after receiving a breakthrough bait from Aaron Ramsey. He opened fire, but was blocked and only produced a corner.
Ukraine tried their luck from distance in the 66th minute but Malinovsyi’s shot went wide on the right. In the 74th minute, it was Mykola Shaparenko’s turn that bounced away.
Wales pressed again. In the 75th minute, Brennan Johnson’s shot hit the post, while Bale’s close-range shot in the 76th minute was successfully blocked by Bushchan.
Ukraine continued to press in the remaining time. Artem Dovbyk had a golden opportunity in front of the Wales goal in the 84th minute but his header was parried by Hennessey.
In the remaining time, Wales managed to maintain a 1-0 advantage. Thus, the Cymru squad is entitled to a ticket to the World Cup in November.
Lineup
Wales: Wayne Hennessey, Ethan Ampadu, Joe Rodon, Ben Davies, Connor Roberts, Joe Allen, Aaron Ramsey, Neco Williams (Rhys Norrington-Davies 90+3′), Gareth Bale (Harry Wilson 83′), Kieffer Moore, Daniel James (Brennan Johnson 71′).
Ukraina: Georgiy Bushchan, Vitaliy Mykolenko, Mykola Matvienko, Illia Zabarnyi, Oleksandr Karavaev, Taras Stepanenko (Serhiy Sydorchuk 70′), Viktor Tsygankov (Mykhailo Mudryk 77′), Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ruslan Malinovskyi (Mykola Shaparenko 70′), Andriy Yarmolenko, Roman Yaremchuk (Artem Dovbyk 77′).
(adp/raw)
