The imposition of martial law meant that six of Ukraine’s starting XI in this World Cup play-off hadn’t kicked a competitive ball since December. Overwhelming their hosts with their superior skill, fitness and relentless courage, no one would have guessed.
Holed up in a Slovenian training camp for the last month, Oleksandr Petrakov’s side trudged out draped in yellow and blue flags then unleashed their patriotic anger with Vladimir Putin on a Scotland team caught out by their relentless ferocity.
By the time they united as one with their 3,000 supporters at time-up, the job of becoming world football’s most unpopular international team had passed to Wales on Sunday.
Scotland were humbled at Hampden Park as they were defeated 3-1 against Ukraine
The visiting Ukraine dominated and this was a footballing lesson for Steve Clarke’s players
For Scotland the painful 24-year wait for an appearance at the World Cup finals goes on.
Unbeaten in their last eight games, hopes of a trip to Cardiff were raised briefly by a late goal for Callum McGregor after 82 minutes. By then a tiring Ukraine were clinging to a lead carved by goals ahead through Andriy Yarmolenko and Roman Yaremchuk.
Just as Steve Clarke’s side pressed furiously for extra-time, a clinical breakaway saw substitute Artem Dovbyk race behind a stranded defence to thunder the ball past Craig Gordon.
Scotland’s resistance was done and if there could be no quibbling with the scoreline, there will be plenty with the performance.
The world’s media converged on Glasgow praying for a miracle. On a night when planet football kicked every ball on Ukraine’s behalf, Scotland were second best in every department. But for goalkeeper Gordon, the stricken visitors would have scored six.
Clarke made some puzzling decisions and his rigidity to stick with 3-5-2 chief among them
Scotland’s painful 24-year wait to get to a World Cup goes on and will miss some players by
No one predicted a game so one-sided, so utterly humbling for Scotland. Even before the Russian tanks started rolling over the border three months ago, the play-off record of these two nations hinted at a different outcome.
Scotland’s last World Cup play-off was 37 years ago when goals from Davie Cooper and Frank McAvennie secured a 2-0 aggregate win over Australia to book a place at Mexico ’86. Play-off encounters had been less kind to Ukraine, a nation who finally claimed their first victory in seven attempts on Wednesday night.
But for Gordon, victory would have been theirs after 20 minutes. Despite the absence of Kieran Tierney – the very player a 3-5-2 formation was created for – Steve Clarke stuck with his favoured shape, slotting in Liam Cooper for the absent Arsenal defender. It didn’t work and, in the days to come, there will be questions over why the manager seemed so reluctant to change it.
Ukraine set the tone of the night and so nearly opened the scoring after eight minutes, Gordon producing his first wonderful save from the driven first-time effort of Viktor Tsygankov after Oleksandr Karavayev’s cross came off the heel of Ruslan Malinovskyi.
The Hearts keeper came to Scotland’s rescue again 10 minutes later. Ukraine cut the home defence apart with alarming ease once more when Yaremchuk’s attempt to turn and shoot in the area was foiled by the toe of McGregor. The Celtic captain succeeded only in diverting the ball into the path of Yarmolenko in front of goal. You’d have bet money on the West Ham man nudging Ukraine into the lead. Even he couldn’t believe it when Gordon once again saved Scotland’s skin from point-blank range before springing up to gather the ball at the second attempt.
Things could have been much uglier from a Scotland perspective without Craig Gordon
Events at Hampden Park proved simply too much for some Scotland supporters to accept
Against the three-man attack Scotland’s backline looked lost. Scott McTominay was caught in possession as he strolled out from the back. When Ukraine worked it in behind a cumbersome Grant Hanley, Gordon rushed from his line again like the caped crusader. His heroics were the only reason Scotland were still in it.
Lyndon Dykes has been a very decent find for Scotland. Without Tierney in the opening game of the Euro 2020 finals, however, the home nation shelled high balls towards the QPR man in the hope of a knockdown. It didn’t work then either.
Ironically, Ukraine showed Clarke’s side how a long ball should be done. Atalanta’s Malinovskyi was everywhere in the first half. The No 8 was magnificent.
Yet when he shelled a route one pass towards the heart of the Scotland defence after 32 minutes, it should have been meat and drink to a back line with three central defenders.
Instead the 32-year-old Yarmolenko was given time and space to run from an onside position with no one near him. Steadying himself with one touch, the striker lofted the ball into the net past the advanced Gordon with a wonderful finish. He’d missed a far easier opportunity earlier.
No one could say the goal was undeserved. Watched by the footballing world, Ukraine had risen to the occasion. In contrast Scotland looked like the team struggling with mental and physical duress. To have any chance of playing Wales in the play-off final, something had to change.
Andy Robertson captained Scotland but Clarke’s squad looked a shell of their abilities
The arrival of Ryan Christie for Dykes signalled a necessary change of personnel, if not formation. Any hope Scotland had of a rapid fightback proved pitifully short-lived. Ukraine doubled their lead after 48 minutes and once again the defending from Scotland was abysmal.
A lofted cross from Karavayev was lobbed into a crowded area where Ukraine – a nation whose bravery can’t be doubted – had five players waiting. It only needed one, the powerful figure of Yaremchuk, to outjump the static duo of McTominay and Aaron Hickey to nod the ball low past Gordon for 2-0.
Ukraine’s goal sparked a round of prolonged boos around Scotland’s National Stadium. Their team were being comprehensively outclassed and the home support could scarcely believe what they were watching. Playing like men possessed, Ukraine looked liable to score every time they crossed the halfway line.
Oozing confidence, Yarmolenko glided past a weak challenge at the edge of the box to clatter in a shot which Gordon did well to beat away. Watched by their legendary former manager Andriy Shevchenko, the score was two going on six.
Scotland’s last remaining hope was tiredness. After an hour of playing like men possessed Ukraine finally started to show signs of fading. Just about.
John McGinn – so often Scotland’s scoring talisman – missed an astonishing chance to get Scotland back in the game after 67 minutes.
Questions will be asked how they were blown away by Ukraine in front of a partisan crowd
It took that long for the home side to give Georgiy Bushchan a save to make, the keeper fumbling McTominay’s driven cross from the right. When it bounced for the head of McGinn six yards out, a goal looked certain. Proof this would not be Scotland’s night came when the Aston Villa man headed wide. A dreadful miss, it seemed that would be that.
Unexpectedly, Bushchan’s flapping hands offered Scotland a late lifeline.
McGregor’s one and only goal for Scotland came against Croatia in a 3-1 defeat at the Euro finals last summer. That goal proved futile and when the midfielder’s rising shot from 16 yards was helped into the net by the hapless Bushchan with eight minutes to play, this one would be as well.
The regrets for Scotland are many. Another World Cup gone, the failure to apply any pressure on Ukraine’s iffy keeper until it was too late is merely one on a long list.