Ukraine's dream of securing another World Cup berth came to a disappointing end following Sunday afternoon's defeat to Wales in the play-offs final. Gareth Bale's first half strike proved to be the difference maker for the hosts who will be making an appearance in the tournament for the first time since 1958.
It was far from a stroll in the park for Robert Page's men as it took a lot of grit from the whole team and the heroics of goalkeeper Wayne Hennessy to contain the Ukrainians. Right from the beginning, the visitors had a number of good chances to score but could not quite find the breakthrough.
In the 34th minute, they were made to pay for their inefficiency with skipper of the side Andriy Yarmolenko redirecting Gareth Bale's free-kick into his own net to give Wales the advantage. The West Ham attacker sought to make amends by helping his team find the equalizer but could not manage a decent shot at it with Hennessey proving to be unbeatable in goal for their opponents.
9 - Wayne Hennessey made nine saves for Wales in this match, while Ukraine's nine shots on target were the most by a team without scoring during a game in the 2022 European World Cup qualifying campaign. Heroic. pic.twitter.com/id4lXDDY4O
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 5, 2022
At the end, Ukraine's dream of securing their first World Cup appearance since 2006 could not manifest as Wales booked their first in over 64 years. The Dragons will as a result battle the United States of America, England and Iran at the mundial in November later this year in Qatar.
