A lot of people were under the impression that Ukraine was the weakest team in Group D.
I personally thought this was the 'group of death', rather than Group B, because I was under the impression that Denmark could not come close to troubling Germany, Portugal and Netherlands.
But, although Denmark's group might just be, indeed, the group of death, it also seems like the teams in this group are more evenly matched than renowned experts initially thought.
Ukraine still has to play the big guns, of course, but they will go into the match against France on Friday with full confidence.
The hosts were better organized for most of this game, and it would have been unfair if they had lost.
And yet, Serie A top goalscorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic took advantage of an Ukrainian team struggling to re-group after one of their players went down injured, to net the ball home from only 6-7 meters, after a very smart pass. It was minute 52, and at that moment Sweden seemed poised to get the better of the tournament co-hosts.
But then it was Sheva's turn to shine.
The 35-year-old Ukrainian equalized with a header, only 3 minutes later, after a quick move which got rid of his marker in the Swedish penalty area.
Then, in minute 62, a corner from the other side was not met by any Swedish defender at the short post, and Shevchenko again directed it in; no chance for Isaksson.
Surprisingly perhaps, the Dynamo Kyiv striker, who is bound to retire from international football after this tournament, won his duel against the Swedish giant, in a game where nobody else seemed able to score, on either side.
Much to the Swedish fans' dismay, Elmander missed a sitter with only minutes left, alone with Pyatov, and Sweden could not get even a point from this encounter.
They play England next, knowing a loss in that game would eliminate them for sure.
Highlights:
Ukraine v Sweden by shmooot
No comments:
Post a Comment