LiveBlog: Saudi Arabia-Ukraine

Ukraine reverse their opening defeat by Spain to put the hurt on Saudi Arabia by the same margin. The win leaves them with 3 points and needing a result against Tunisia to ensure qualification. Saudi Arabia are all but out of it now. They’ll need some surprising results from the Spain-Tunisia game to even have a chance, as well as need a win against the Spaniards.

Final: Saudi Arabia 0-4 Ukraine

Full-time: Ukraine looked comfortable throughout this game. Their passing was sharp and at times they had almost too many options in front of goal and shots were wasted by taking one extra pass than might have been necessary. Not much positive for the Saudis in this one. Their first touch was terrible and made trying to build any sort of sustained pressure impossible. It could get embarrassing against Spain if they don’t figure out a way to keep their foot on the ball.

93:00 – Last action of this game is a shot from Ukraine. Fitting really since they controlled this one from start to finish. The Saudis have plenty of work to do before they face red-hot Spain.

90:04 – 3 minutes more for the Saudis to try and salvage some pride from this game. Two more claims for a penalty by Saudi Arabia in the space of 10 seconds. Both rejected by Poll. Al Jaber had the best case but the way he went down made it look more like a dive than a legitimate claim.

89:27 – Ukraine not done yet. Shot by Kalinichenko on the edge of the 18 yard box sails just over the crossbar.

88:12 – Sviderskiy picks up a stupid yellow card for a late challenge from behind. Silly really, with your team up 4 goals and 2 minutes left, Ukraine could be forgiven for not defending as tightly.

87:13 – Milevskiy charges into the SA area and throws his legs in the air looking for a penalty. Poll is not convinced but also does not book the man for diving.

85:20 – Ukraine sub Shevchenko who has earned a rest today. He is replaced by Milevskiy who will have 5 minutes to get on the scoresheet. The crowd give Sheva some rousing applause and he gets up from the bench to accept the accolades.

83:07 – GGGGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLL!!! Shevchenko breaks down the left side and lays it square on a platter for Kalinichenko who buries it into the top of the net from 8 yards.

82:37 – Shot of Sulimani gesticulating at team-mates. Things have not gone well for the Saudi’s today

80:00 – Last ten minutes for Saudi Arabia. A loss does not put them out of the World CUp yet, but it will be very tough for them to beat Spain in their current mood and form. Plus they would have to beat them by several goals.

78:10 – Hard working Voronin makes way for Gusin. He’s a midfielder but I’d be willing to bet he’s more defensive minded.

76:50 – Substitution for Saudi and one they really need. Legendary goal scorer Al Jaber replaces Noor. Can he recreate his heroics in the Tunisia game and give the Saudi’s some hope?

76:00 – Kalinichenk brings down Sulimani on the Saudi left wing in a professional foul that earns hin a yellow card from Poll.

75:13 – Free kick on the corner of the Saudi area is taken by Shevchenko but he strikes the wall.

72:44 – Ukraine lining up again on the 18 yard box trying to get a shot away. Voronin eventually does but its soft and straight at Zaid.

72:00 – Yellow card for Kariri.

70:14 – Still not much attacking substance from Saudi Arabia after a brief flurry a few minutes ago. Substitution for Ukraine: goalscorer Rebrov is off for Rotan.

67:57 – Shevchenko having back-to-back chances in front of goal. Both times he took a couple touches and just could not get his shot away in time, the first well saved by Zaid in the 6 yard box, the second blocked by a Saudi defender about 15 yards out. He’s a constant danger though.

65:25 – Some stoppage as both Voronin and Zaid collide in mid-air and crash heavily to the pitch. Voronin appears to be fine and back on his feet. Zaid still being attended to. He’s up now and I’m sure it’s just a hard bump to the tailbone.

63:55 – Reply by Ukraine. Voronin skims his rifle shot from the corner of the 18 yard box off the top of the crossbar with Zaid beaten. As SA press we should see more of these chances. Ukraine won’t have men piling into the box, but they’ve shown they can shoot well from distance.

62:50 – Corner for Saudi. Weak punch by Shust but the resulting shot from outside the area is not close. Yasser for SA is making a nuisance of himself.

60:40 – Certainly looks as though Ukraine are now content to sit and play on the break. It nearly cost them as SA broke into the Ukraine box and almost got a shot away. Maybe the Saudis can conjure up something here if Ukraine let them camp out in their half.

58:46 – Scrappy bit of play in the Ukraine defensive third. Possession changed a handful of times and the tackles were flying in. All well timed though and eventually Ukraine gets the ball back to their ‘keeper Shust. That’s about as hard as he’s worked all day.

55:57 – Booking for Omar of Saudi Arabia for diving in the box. Replay shows Poll got it exactly right. Ukraine defender wasn’t within coo-ee of Omar when he went limp. I hope we don’t see any more of that.

54:26 – Double sub for Saudi Arabia, a bit more offensive. With midfielder Ameen replaced by stricker Mouath. Defender Dokhi is replaced by Khathran which is more of a straight swap.

49:24 – The hurt is going to get worse for SA. I can’t imagine coach Oleg Blokhin will encourage his players to ease off in the second half, even with a 3 goal cushion. Goals may not be important if Spain destroys Tunisia and Saudi Arabia, but the confidence a big win will give Ukraine will make the game againt Tunisia that much easier.

45:30 – GGGGGGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!!! Just as I write that Saudi make a game of it Shevchenko gets the goal I promised you with a far post header. Clinical finishing from the Chelsea man and must be a relief to get on the scoresheet for him. Ukraine doing to Saudi what Spain did to them. This will certainly help their goal differential if it ever comes to that.

45:01 – Second half underway in Hamburg. No changes to either line-up at this point. Come on Saudi Arabia! Let’s make a game of it!

Half-time highlights: In fairness to Zaid on Ukraine’s second goal, he slipped while making a move towards the ball. I still don’t think he would have gotten anywhere near it, but he wasn’t rooted to the spot as I had unfairly commented. Several comments below about the refereeing and yes Graeme Poll is letting the game flow. There have been some hard fouls and the occasional flop, but he’s letting the players sort it out amongst themselves, stepping in only when thinhs (rarely) step over the line. The game is fairly wide open though and neither team appears to be marking terribly closely so the opportunity for crunching tackles is not as prevalent as we’ve seen in previous games.

Half-time: Ukraine finished the half strongly and surely it is only a mater of time before more goals come. Shevchenko has not had many clear chances apart form the initial header which set up the opening goal, but he’s been busy and laying on passes for team-mates. I reckon he’ll get one before the game is over.

Saudi Arabia aren’t really looking good for a goal at this point. They will have to look at their tactics and see how they can break down what has looked like a solid Ukraine defence. A far cry from the porous backline we saw against Spain. Everything from the Saudis is being played in front of Ukraine and they will deal with speculative balls into the penalty area all day. My prediction is looking good so far except for the fact I’m no longer convinced the Saudis can score today.

44:35 – Beautiful short passing by Ukraine on the edge of the area falls apart when one more pass would have put Sheva through one-on-one with Zaid. Ukraine attacking with nice speed after slow, patient build-ups.

43:32 – Awful attempted bicycle clearance in the Saudi penalty area leaves the ball at Voronin’s feet. Great shooting opportunity but the strike shoots wide.

42:20 – Another shot by Rebrov goes just wide after a Ukraine corner is defended with a weak punch out by Zaid.

40:20 – Saudi defending very deep, which means Sheva won’t have the offside problems he saw against Spain. Hard foul on Nesmachniy on the sideline leaves both players sprawled out. Dokhi earns the yellow card for the mis-timed challenge.

37:15 – Shot of Saudi coach with his little marker board, illustrating tactics. Perhaps it’s a ouija board and he’s looking for help from the other side for where Saudi will get a goal or two back. They haven’t really threatened the Ukraine goal to this point in the match.

35:20 – GGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLL! Rebrov hits a speculative effort from 35 yards out which dips and swirls and ends up in the back of Zaid’s net with him rooted to the spot. Ukraine had looked out of ideas and then one swing of the boot and they double their lead.

33:50 – Poll really letting the game go. Nice to see after the card waving that’s been going on so far this tournament. Ukraine lining up to shoot at the Saudi goal but in the end nothign comes of it.

31:17 – Gusev creates something out of nothing on Urkraine’s right and whips a cross in to the near post. Only Saudi defenders there though. Ukraine getting decent possession about 35 yards out. Surely they will find a way past Zaid if the Saudis continue to allow that.

27:50 – Industrious work by Dokhi down the Saudi right wing ends with him taking the ball inside and getting a shot away from 25 yards. High and wide once again. Have none of these guys heard of a ‘daisy-cutter’?

25:50 – Bit of a slow spell in the game. The crowd getting restless. Ukraine picks up the pace with some crisp passing but it ends with Voronin’s shot sailing high and wide.

23:41 – Corner to SA after Rusol scuffs his clearance. What can SA do from the set piece? The answer is not much.

21:35 – Yellow card for Nesmachniy after sliding through the back of SA’s Ameen. First card of the game.

20:25 – Sheva shoots from outside the area but staright at Zaid. Ukraine controlling midfield with some nice short passes and good movement. The final pass sometimes goes astray though and near chances abound.

18:50 – Saudi first touch sometimes letting them down which forces them to pass quickly into bad areas and lose possession. A few of the Ukraine players sporting the same haircut as Sheva. Wonder if she shouted them a trip to the salon with his Chelsea signing bonus.

16:55 – Referee Poll lays on a nice pass for the Ukraine as the ball strikes him. Thankfully for the Saudis the final pass is beyond Shevchenko in the 18 year dbox.

15:35 – Saudis trying to get back into this game, passing tyhe ball around nicely but with no real incision. Ukraine defending better than they did against Spain. Game has been well behaved so far. No harsh fouls or yellow cards.

14:35 – Some stoppage time here as Sviderskiy hits the deck hard after jumping to head clear from a Saudi free kick.

12:48 – Another corner to Ukraine. Sheva heads on goal and it’s cleared off the line with Zaid beaten. The rebound falls to a Ukrainian but he skies it over the bar. Sustained pressure from Ukraine now. They sense blood in the water.

11:36 – Charging run up the right wing by Gusev earns Ukraine another corner. Header by Sheva blocked for another corner.

08:23 – Nice buildup work from Ukraine sees a cross to the far post taken off the head of Shevchenko by Zaid. Apart from the ball that squeezed through his legs for the goal he’s looked competent between the posts.

06:55 – Free kick for Ukraine on the wing. Pumped into the box but headed clear. Shot from outside the box by Rebrov is high and wide.

05:15 – The goal will give Ukraine some confidence. They shouldn’t sit back on this lead though or the Saudis will gratefully accept more possession.

03:00 – GGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL! Second corner whipped into near post and Rusol for Ukraine knees it goalwards. The ball dribbles under Zaid’s body for the first goal of the game.

02:20 – First corner to Ukraine after SA ‘keeper Zaid slipped while trying to clear. First corner is headed wide by an SA defender.

01:00 – Early pressure from Ukraine, dealt with comfortably by SA.

00:01 – We’re off! Ukraine playing a 3-5-2 formation looking to crowd the midfield and give the Saudis no space to work in. Saudis opertaing a more traditional 4-4-2.

1 minute to go: Ukrainian players not so hot on their national anthem. Some looked disinterested, others didn’t bother to sing. Sharp contrast to the Saudis who joined arms and each player sang his heart out. Who wants this game more?

5 minutes to go: Teams in the tunnel waiting to come out. Shevchenko has a steely look in his eye and has cut his hair short. Looks like he’s serious today.

7 minutes to go: Graeme Poll from England is today’s referee. He’ll get to see a bit of Sheva next season after he joins Chelsea. The later game time today should benefit both teams, but especially Ukraine who struggled in the heat against Spain.

Pregame: Who will win and what will be the final score?
Lots of seats still be be filled in the Hamburg stadium. WCB’s Sean will be at the ground attempting to purchase tickets to see this one. We wish him luck.

This game is massive for Ukraine who will be desperate for a win in Group H. After the drubbing they got from Spain, hoping to get through on goal difference isn’t really an option. Shevchenko will be looking to make his mark on this World Cup and I expect to see goals from him today.

Saudi Arabia have proven they know where the goal is and will attack up to the final minutes. Of course, they also leaked a goal at a crucial time to gift Tunisia a point.

I’m predicting it will end 3-1 Ukraine. What does everyone else think?

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