The Ukrainian national football team climbed into second place above Iceland in its Group I, after a close victory against Finland in a qualifying match for the 2018 World Cup.
Ukraine maintained its four-game unbeaten streak as striker Artem Kravets scored from close range to secure a 1-0 win over the Finns.
“The first half time was very good. In the second one, fatigue had an impact. FC Dynamo (Kyiv), Shakhtar (Donetsk) and Zorya (Luhansk) have a tough schedule,” Ukraine’s head coach Andriy Shevchenko said during a press conference after the Odesa match on Nov. 12.
Shevchenko added that the national team players are extremely exhausted. Three Ukrainian soccer teams, from which most of the players are drawn, are competing for three separate cups, including UEFA Champions League and Europa League, simultaneously with the World Cup qualifiers.
“I’m grateful to the guys as they took heart and showed decent soccer,” Shevchenko went on. “I am highly pleased.”
In the same group, Iceland’s unbeaten record ended with a 2-0 defeat by leaders Croatia, which allowed Ukraine to take second place in the last game for the team in 2016.
Turkey beat bottom-of-the-table Kosovo 2-0 and took fourth place after Iceland.
“We have a relatively even group, and every opponent can take away points from any team,” said one of Ukraine’s key players, winger Andriy Yarmolenko. “We need to get ready for every game as if it were the last.”
Kyiv Post staff writer Denys Krasnikov can be reached at [email protected].
