When Ukraine kept losing the final qualifying match
12It was the start of a long line of near misses for the Ukraine national team in an attempt to reach a football tournament.
Ukraine had starred in Europe, through the performances of Andriy Shevchenko, Serhiy Rebrov and Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League, but they couldn’t reach an international tournament until 2006.
They fell to Croatia at their first World Cup qualification, losing 2-0 in Zagreb to a team, heading to their first World Cup, who would reach the semi-final.
Then came the late setback against Slovenia in the EURO 2000 play-offs, when Serhiy Rebrov’s penalty wasn’t enough to secure an away goals win.
Before a good showing against Germany in Kyiv, only to be thumped 4-1 in Dortmund in the second leg of a third play-off defeat in a row.
Ukraine’s first participation in a tournament came at the following World Cup, with a spirited quarter final showing, in defeat to eventual champions Italy.
#Ukraine #FIFAWorldCup
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Voice: Jake Doyle (@jakedoyle93)
Words: Jake Doyle (@jakedoyle93)
Edit: Jake Doyle (@jakedoyle93)
What If Football is a form of footballing storytelling that takes the audience down a different path to our current reality.
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