Scotland vs Ukraine LIVE: World Cup play-off result, final score and reaction as Ukraine triumph
Follow all the updates from Hampden Park as both nations look to move one step away from the finals in Qatar at the end of the year
Ukraine kept alive their dream of reaching the World Cup finals, beating Scotland 3-1 in their play-off at Hampden Park in their first game since the Russian invasion of their country.
Ukraine will now face Wales on Sunday in Cardiff with the winner taking a place in November’s finals in Qatar. The loss means Scotland remain without an appearance at a World Cup since 1998.
Goals from Andriy Yarmolenko and Roman Yaremchuk had put a confident and dominant Ukraine 2-0 up before Callum McGregor pulled a goal back for the Scots in the 79th minute.
The goal injected some belief into Scotland who applied some late pressure but deep into stoppage time substitute Artem Dovbyk finished off a counter-attack to secure the victory.
Follow all the reaction below as Ukraine beat Scotland in the World Cup play-off semi-final:
GOAL! Poland 1-1 Wales (Kaminski, 72’)⚽️
72 mins: Polish substitute Jakub Kaminski draws his team level in their Nations League match against Wales. He slots a right-footed effort past Wayne Hennessey after first-choice keeper Danny Ward was brought off at half-time.
He’s being rested for Sunday’s World Cup play-off final against Scotland or Ukraine.
Ukraine starting XI
Ukraine XI: Bushchan, Karavaev, Zabarnyl, Matvlyenko, Mykolenko, Stepanenko, Malinosvkyi, Zinchenko, Tsygankov, Yaremchuk, Yarmolenko
Hickey starts for Scotland
The loss of Kieran Tierney to injury is a huge blow given his influence in defence and attack for Scotland.
Scott McKenna and Liam Cooper are left-sided centre-halves but don’t offer those marauding runs forward so Steve Clarke has opted for the youthful talent of Aaron Hickey over the reliable Stephen O’Donnell or Anthony Ralston.
How will that turn out tonight?
Scotland starting XI
Scotland XI: Gordon, McTominay, Hanley, Cooper, Hickey, Gilmour, McGregor, Robertson, McGinn; Adams, Dykes
Petrakov tried to enlist in Ukrainian army
Ukraine manager Oleksandr Petrakov says he attempted to enlist in the Ukrainain army as soon as his home city of Kyiv came under threat from Russia’s invasion in February.
“It would be wrong if I ran from my city where I was born,” explained the 64-year-old. “But they said ‘You are too old and don’t have any military skills. Instead, you better bring us to the World Cup.’”
“It’s a very big responsibility,” he added in a recent interview with TIME magazine. “Many of our fans are soldiers in the Ukrainian army.”
GOAL! Poland 0-1 Wales (Williams, 52’)⚽️
52 mins: Wales have taken the lead against Poland with a scorcher from Jonny Williams! From a long way out, Williams tries his luck and smokes an exceptional strike into the back of the net to put the visitors in front.
‘We’ll be ready to face Ukraine'
Scotland captain Andy Robertson acknowledged last week that most neutral supporters will be backing Ukraine this evening when he spoke about this fixture and what it means.
“If it was any other country, I would probably want them to win but unfortunately they’re playing against my country and we have to stand in their way,” said the Liverpool left-back.
“We’ll be so receptive of Ukraine before and after the game but during that 90 minutes, that 120 minutes, or whatever it takes, we have to be ready to fight for our dreams as well. As players, we want to go to a World Cup.”
Half-time: Poland 0-0 Wales
Over in Poland, Wales made it to the break on level terms after the homes side missed two great chances including that one from Robert Lewandowski.
Wales have been competitive especially without their big name players. Rob Page is making more changes. Wayne Hennessey is on for Danny Ward, while Rabbi Matondo and Mark Harris replace Dan James and Kieffer Moore.
Scotland vs Ukraine early team news
Scotland will be without Kieran Tierney and Ryan Jack who both miss out due to injury, while Nathan Patterson is doubtful after spending several weeks on the side-lines after undergoing minor ankle surgery.
Andy Robertson and Scott McKenna featured in the Champions League and Championship play-off finals respectively over the weekend and may need to be assessed by manager Steve Clarke to see if they will be up to speed for the game.
For Ukraine Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ruslan Malinovskyi, Roman Yaremchuk and Andriy Yarmolenko did not feature in their warm-up match against Borussia Monchengladbach in May but are expected to return to the starting line-up at Hampden Park.
How to buy World Cup 2022 tickets for tournament in Qatar
After over a decade of controversy since it was awarded the tournament, the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is just a few months away from beginning.
The tournament will be the first to be held in the Arab world and only the second to place in Asia, after Japan and South Korea joint-hosted the event in 2002. This edition will be the last to feature just 32 teams, with the tournament being expanded from 2026 inwards in order to feature 48 nations.
Reigning champions France will be among the favourites, though no team has successfully defended the World Cup since Brazil in 1962, alongside fellow European sides England, Spain, and Belgium. Brazil and Argentina will also likely feature in the knockout stages, while Senegal could represent Africa’s biggest hopes of winning for the first time.
Ticket sales are now underway for the tournament, and everything you need to know is below.
How to buy World Cup 2022 tickets for tournament in Qatar
All you need to know about buying tickets for the World Cup in Qatar
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