Ukraine produced a thrilling second-half comeback to beat Slovakia in Dusseldorf and keep their Euro 2024 campaign alive as Roman Yaremchuk came off the bench to score a superb late goal.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH – MIKOLA ŠAPARENKO
Trailing 1-0 and looking set to exit the tournament, Ukraine needed a hero.
Dynamo Kyiv midfielder Shaparenko was probably not who they were expecting, but it was the 25-year-old who took the game by the scruff of the neck in the second half, scoring a calm equalizer before assisting Yaremchuk’s winner.
PLAYER RATINGS
Slovakia: Dubravka 6, Pekarik 6, Vavro 6, Škriniar 6, Hančko 6, Kučka 6, Lobotka 7, Duda 6, Šranc 7, Boženik 6, Harašlin 8
Substitutions: Beneš 6, Strelec 6, Obert 6, Suslov 6, Sauer N/A
Ukraine: Trubin 7, Timchik 6, Zabarini 6, Matvienko 6, Zinchenko 8, Brazhko 7, Shaparenko 8, Yarmolenko 6, Sudakov 7, Mudrik 7, Dovbyk 6
Substitutes: Zubkov 6, Yaremchuk 8, Malinovskiy N/A, Sidorchuk N/A, Talovierov N/A
THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTS OF THE MATCH
18′ GOAL! SLOVAKIA 1-0 UKRAINE (Šranc)
It was coming! Schranz, the match-winner against Belgium, is again the man on the scoresheet as a cross is hooked to the back post, where he rises to nod in from close range. Slovakia continues to impress!
34′ UKRAINE hit the post!
So close to equalizing! It’s a great move from Ukraine, starting with a cross to Yarmolenko, who tries a one-two with Dovbyk to get into the box, but fails. The ball goes back to Timčik, but Dubravka tipped his ball from the corner to the foot of the post and after a bit of pinball, Slovakia clears.
54′ GOAL! SLOVAKIA 1-1 UKRAINE (Shaparenko)
Mudrik leads another break in Ukraine, but his pass is behind Dovbik and that slows things down. Not that it matters – the striker keeps the ball and when Zinchenko returns it into the box on the left, Shaparenko is there to soften the finish into the bottom corner. Game on!
75′ MUDRIK hit the post!
Slovakia goes on the attack, but Pekarik’s shot from the edge of the penalty area is blocked and Ukraine can suddenly spark a two-on-one counter! Dovbyk’s pass for Mudrik is hard and he pushes it wide, but the Chelsea winger’s shot comes off Dubravka’s knee and shakes the post before it comes back!
80′ GOAL! SLOVAKIA 1-2 UKRAINE (Yaremchuk)
They did it! Shaparenko knocks the ball over the top for Yaremchuk to chase down and the big striker knocks it down nicely with his first touch before finishing past Dubravka. Bedlam is on the touchline as Ukrainian players pour onto the pitch in celebration!