Six out of six
Ukraine vs. Belarus – 1:0; Kazakhstan vs. Ukraine – 1:3
Even 20 years ago few of us could imagine Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan competing in one group for a trip to the World Cup. Decades ago we could only fantasize what it would be like if soccer players representing various Soviet republics competed internationally with their respective national teams, and whether it would be preferable to have one union team or 15 national teams. Of course, our prospects looked bright, since most of the players on the USSR team, which placed second in Europe in 1988, were from Ukraine.
Today Ukraine’s national team is not simply a reality, but a reality with a long history and not so impressive achievements. Every time that our team has competed for a trip to the World Cup or the European Championship, it has had to prove that it is stronger than the teams from the other former Soviet republics.
Our rivals in the group belong to three categories. First, the England and Croatia teams are a priori candidates for first place. Second, the team from tiny Andorra is destined to come last. Third, the Belarus and Kazakhstan teams cannot set the Thames on fire, but they are able to mount a massive resistance to any opponent. Our first two games were played against them. In order to have a chance of getting to the World Cup finals, our team had to win both games.
The first one took place on Sept. 3 in Lviv and even though it was a win, it raised a slew of questions. The national team’s first official game with Oleksii Mykhailychenko as the new coach was anxiously awaited. The debut of a new team (and ours is certainly new) always causes anxiety. Furthermore, the Belarusians, who are coached by the German national, Bernd Stange, are being transformed from a group of talented players into a very well-organized team. The fact that their captain plays for Barcelona just added to the intrigue.
In general, the game in Lviv was a typical one for post-Soviet teams: lots of physical play everywhere on the field with a minimum of threats. Aleksandr Gleb, the Belarusian captain, was the playmaker for his team, and their half-backs dominated the center of the field. However, Gleb encountered our captain, Tymoshchuk, closer to our goal box and that was the end of it. Except for a few strikes from afar, the Belarusians failed to create any more dangerous plays for the rest of the game.
Our team’s attacking efforts were a complete failure. Serhii Kravchenko, a promising player, was lost to the game, Maksym Kalynychenko and Serhii Nazarenko failed to show their worth, and Andrii Voronin and Artem Milevsky, who were supposed to attack, typically received the ball after the Belarusians had blocked access to their goal area.
The replacements that were made close to the end of the game were decisive. Andrii Shevchenko, Oleksandr Aliiev, and Yevhen Selezniov managed to shake the opponent’s defense in the final minutes. Although they did not score from the field, a fortunate penalty kick called during the last minute was to our advantage. Shevchenko scored, and with 1:0 we can forget about the Belarusians until the New Year. Let our rivals think about them.
Our team arrived in Kazakhstan on the night of Sept. 10 to play against another post-Soviet squad. The Kazakhstan team looked much weaker than the Belarusian one, even though the efforts of Arno Pijpers, the team’s non-Kazakh coach, brought results. The Kazakhs tried hard to compensate for their lack of skill with organization and diligence, and their efforts occasionally paid off. But as soon as the Ukrainians started playing fast, the hosts’ goal box was in danger.
This time it was Shevchenko who led the team onto the field as captain. The ease with which our players approached the Kazakh goal played a trick on them. Our defense started to falter, and in the first half the Kazakhs could have scored at least twice, but one time the Ukrainians were lucky, and the other time our goalkeeper Andrii Piatov saved the goal. Nevertheless, in the last minute of the first half, when Nazarenko finally kicked the ball in after a rebound, it seemed that everything was in the bag.
Things became even calmer after the second goal, which the host team allowed Shevchenko to score from the center of their penalty area. But Sergei Ostapenko exploited another hole in our defense and got one back. Nazarenko put an end to all the anxieties by scoring the third goal with a masterful kick-3:1!
So our team passed the “Soviet” stage halfway by getting six points and joining England to top the group’s standings. Now we will enter the “foreign” stage. On Oct. 11 Ukraine will play against Croatia and in April next year, against England. After proving their superiority on the group’s post-Soviet territory, Ukraine’s team and its coaches have to show their worth in Europe.
Everything will be different there. It is not unlikely that Ukraine’s team will have an easier time playing against the Europeans than the former “fraternal” nations, at least as far as their morale is concerned. Stealing points from Croatia and England will traditionally be considered “optional” for Ukraine. This does not mean, though, that they cannot get these points.
2010 World Cup qualification, Group 6.
GP W D L GS/ P GC
1. England 2 2 0 0 6:1 6
2. UKRAINE 2 2 0 0 4:1 6
3. Belarus 2 1 0 1 3:2 3
4. Croatia 2 1 0 1 4:4 3
5. Kazakhstan 3 1 0 2 4:6 3
6. Andorra 3 0 0 3 1:8 0
