LiveBlog: Spain-Ukraine

June 14th, 2006 | by: Sean Keener | Comments(268)

We’ll be LiveBlogging the full 90 of the Spain-Ukraine match on June 14. Come in and join us by leaving your thoughts and comments while the match happens.

Final: Spain 4-0 Ukraine

Fulltime Spain dominates throughout and wins 4 – 0. Spain goes top of the group. Stay tuned for the most hyped game of the tournament, Tunisia – Saudi Arabia. We’ll be liveblogging everygame of World Cup 2006. Thank-you everyone for participating.

90:002 minutes of extra time. Ukraine can’t wait for this one to end. Spain wants it to continue forever. Spain’s fans doing the Ole, Ole chant. if Ukraine keeps this up, they will be able to have sex after the 1st round. Schevchenko has a chance, but the ball feebly rolls away. Nothing for Ukraine today.

89:00Spain’s super subs are keeping the pressure on. Will we see a 5th goal? This Spain team could be the best team in the world. Is Brazil over rated? Am I overratting this victory? Maybe Ukraine is this bad. Spain should breeze through the rest of this group with 9 points and won’t get challenged till later.

87:00Spain fans going nutz at the stadium. A great day to be a fan and celebrate wonderful football. I feel honored to hav liveblogged this game. Raul almost scores again…UKR keeper and him high five after the chance. Both players appreciate each other. This is what the world cup is all about.

85:00Another chance by Spain – Fabregas was part of it. Spanish press and fans will be happy about this one. The most impressive performance of any team so far. World Beaters.

83:00 That was the team goal of the tournament so far. Superb skill and speed. Watch out Brazil….Spain is more fun to watch. (Adidis cheers, Nike is crying)

81:00 GOOOALLL: Puyol of Spain dribbled through 5 players with spins and whatnot, lays it off to Torres for a goal. Awesome sequence. Torres one timed it. Puyol made that play. Spain 4 – o.

79:00VOROBEY Andriy down on the pitch and receiving some attention from trainers. This game is over. Players are grasping for water and dousing themselves with it. Could be close to 35 celcius and 100 F on the pitch.

76:30 Fabregas on for Garcia. Fabregas plays for Arsenal and is 19 years old. What a talent. Spain is loaded.

74:30Schevchenko draws foul in corner. Free kick to UKR – nothing happens. The story of today for Ukraine. Spain starts a game of monkey in the middle. 11 in 10 makes it a bit easier.

72:33A bunch of mid field back and forthness. Puyol of Spain had a 70’s hairdo. Rebrov of Ukraine has a superb chance and kicks a field goal. So many player go high. That is one of the great parts of Rooney’s game. Daisy Cutters – low and hard. Much harder for a keeper to get at and under appreciated part of today’s game.

70:30 I fell asleep for about 15 seconds – pheff – nothing happened. When I woke up, 21 blokes were kicking a ball around a large pitch with many people cheering. Ukraine just connected on about 10 passes with there backline. Gotta start somewhere.

68:00 A sequence of about 25 Spain 1 and 2 touch passes just happened and ended in a Raul header that did not go in. Beautiful football. I am tearing up.

66:0025 minutes of football left. Ukraine still can’t string more than a few passes together. It looks like Spain knows where Ukraine is going before they do. Possession time firmly in favor of Spain.

63:45 Free kick for Spain gets deflected – leads to Spain corner and leads to delection and a cracker by Senna that goes in. Called off because of Spain foul in box. gr8 shot anyway. Spain may win by a touchdown.

62:00Maradona is shown on the screen. He has a headset on. Mouth not moving….looks like me when I am live bloggin and fingers not moving.

60:45 Raul with a decent shot/attempt. Again, Spain looks dangerous at aany time. UKR counter and GUSEV Oleg gets a cracker of a shot off. It looked good but just missed the upper left corner on the outside.

59:32Meister = Champion in german. The Spainmeister!

58:00Looks like a bit of a kickaround the past few minutes. Nothing forward for either team. Will we see more goals, will Ukraine get anything, will Spain back off?

55:30 David Villa comes off for Raul. 2 goals for Villa. Albelda comes on for Alonso. Spain is clearing out the bench. Not bad, Raul off the bench. Too bad for Villa – a hat trick would help for Golden Boot possibilities.

53:00 Torres es un animal. In English, that means, Torres is an Animal.

51:50YEZERSKIY Vladimir with the yellow card. Spain keeps breaking through. Spain looks awesome. Just awesome. Are they peaking too early?

49:00Torres of Spain plays for Athletico Madrid. He is the difference maker in this game. All speed and he can pull away from defenders while having a ball at his feet. Unreal skill. This guy is better than Ronaldinho, I mean Ronaldo.

47:15David Villa scores on a penalty. So, Vashuk gets a red card and Spain gets a penalty. Looks like a harsh call on Ukraine. Torres was barely touched. This was the 1st penalty shot of the tournament. Spain 3 – 0.

45:45The 2nd half has started. Ukraine comes up with a chance that is quickly snuffed out by Spain. Spain Torres breaks back on the couter attack. Vachuk gets a red card in the box and a penalty. Replays look like Torres was not touched.

45:00 Following Bob’s lead, I will go refill my beer at 1/2 time. Thanks for joining us so far. I am hoping for some more great goals and to see something from Ukraine this half. Showing some lovely ladies in the crowd and halftime – about to start.

Halftime Spain dominates the 1st half action. Ukraine mustered very little and looks to go away meekly in this one. Spain’s keeper had 1 save, they controled the ball, Ukraine can’t build from the midfield. Spain looking super fast! Flat footed Ukrainians to this point. It won’t take much for Ukraine to have a better 2nd half. No where to go but up at this point.

45:00no extra time: 1/2 time Spain 2 – Ukraine 0

43:00 Schevchenko offside by about 10 meters. nothing from him in the 1st 1/2. Torres put thru a nice ball that Villa almost scores on. Spain dangerous at any moment.

42:10Offside Ukraine. But UKR gets the ball right back. Spain has really cooled off after those 2 goalds. UKR with a through ball that looked dangerous, but anohter offsides.

40:30At one time, I thought Ukraine could be a sleeper. Still possible of course.

39:00Ukraine has controlled the ball for most of the past 4 minutes or so. Still no strong chances. Spain is happy with a 2 nil lead at 1/2 time. Score is still 2-0 Spain.

36:30About 10 minutes left in the 1/2 – Ukraine strung together about 10 passes then crossed to no one. I love those segments where a team can string together possesiion for a while and build to a good chance. A team of 11, acting as one.

34:45Everytime Ukraine tries to put something together on the attack, it falls apart quickly. Looks the the US of A a few days ago.

33:00Spain is quicker, more organized and dangerous. Ukraine’s Gusin get a left footed shot that the Spanish keeper easily stops. Maybe the best chance so far for UKR. Torres of Spain make a quick push down the field and get a corner for Spain. More Spain possession.

30:11Spain in German is spelling Spanien. Ukraine is spelling Ukraine. I know german. Spain still controlling.

28:00 Comments below suggest a hungry Ronaldo, and that Spain is that good. Meanwhile, Ukraine trying to mount some attack. I would like to see another 6 to 8 goal game.

25:00Another weak cross into Spain’s keepers hands. Nothing threatening from the Ukraine, part of the former U.S.S.R.

24:00 Replays of the 2nd goal show that the deflection put the Ukraine keeper off and had him going the wrong way.

23:28Spain still controlling possession. They look dangerous and sharp. Ukraine, on their heels.

22:00Rough start for Ukraine in there 1st World Cup Finals appearance. Many folks think Ukraine is slated for 2nd place in this group anyway. A poor performace like this could bring more doubters. 2 -0 Spain

21:00 Wow – what a 1st 20 minutes. Let’s get some more goals! The Mexican wave has started. ugh.

18:30 Ukraine won their group in WCup qualifying. Spain looks very good with these 2 early goals.

16:00 yellow card for Russo – lead to free kick for David Villa. GOOOOAAAAL! – Off the Ukraine defender’s head. The UKR defender was part of the wall – deflected off his head and into goal.. 2 – 0 Spain.

15:10 Spain is dominating possession and chances. Will they be able to continue this pace and put another 1 or 2 past Ukraine and make this a blow out?

13:30 Why was the Ukraine defender on the pole, parrellel to it. Not much protection that way. Spain, the decisive 1st goal. Will Ukraine mount more than a offside this game?

12:20 2 shots by Spain in the past 45 seconds. – now a corner and a GOOOAALL. Alonso header on the corner.

11:15 3rd offside on Ukraine already.

10:30 from Philp below: “Spanish fans singing that annoying yet catchy “A por ellos” song. It was recorded by the team, including Aragones, and has been all over the Spanish media reports”

9:00 Lots of kicking back and forth…a few offsides. This is the part of Football that yanks hate I think. Just kicking it back and forth and only connectin gon a few passes.

5:45Offside on Ukraine on a long ball. Schevchenko: How will he perform after this knee injury. So far, nothing. A player like him only needs a chance or 2 to make a difference though.

3:37 Good to see Schevchenko playing – it wouldn’t be the same without the Chelsea superstar. How will Ukraine cope without sex for this tournament. Well, they just missed a good chance.

2:45 Xavi of Spain with a weak shot wide of UKR goal. Didn’t look that threatening – but it was a chance, no?

2:00 Seems to be more Spain fans. Not surprising. They are closer and richer.

:45 Spain comes out controlling and immediately shoots at the Ukraine Keeper from 1/2 way. Nothing.

0:00 – Chris tells me that the Spainish coach hates yellow. Ukraine is in yellow. ouch.

Kickoff: Hot day and the crowd and I am ready. Are you? Let’s hope for some unreal football. We welcome your comments and input below. Rock and Roll!

Pregame

3 minute countdown: Ukraine Anthem: Ukraine fans playing flute during anthem – they are into it.

4 minute countdown: National Anthems. This is where Bob usually cries. None of them are singing – but they look into it. Beckenbauer siting.

5 minute countdown: Looks sold out. Open stadium which mean nasty shadows and a steamy pitch. Which team is more fit? Team coming on field with flags.

8 minute countdown: I still don’t know if Schevchenko is playing for sure – comments below says he is. He is dressed and walking hand in hand with a little guy out to the field. He’s playing!

11 minute countdown: There are certain songs you associate with events. FIFA has some songs that they keep pumping at Fan Fests and games. Kinda pop music – probably has something todo with a sponsor – I hear the “love generation” behind the commentators at the game. This song is has me thinking World Cup.

14 minute countdown: I love these 1st time World Cup participants like Ukraine. So much hope, so much excitement.

18 minute countdown: Raul on the bench for Spain today…not a bad bloke to bring off in the 2nd half for some firepower, eh?

22 minutes countdown: The german channel we are watching here is hyping the Germany game tonight. Fair enuff – that’s what they care about. UKR – SPA could be the game of the day. Let’s hope so.

25 minute countdown: Our man Nick is in Leipzig – he should be back and 1/2 time with pictures and video from outside the stadium. See the June 13th pictures here.

30 minute countdown: Welcome to all the ESPN commentator haters. For all you folks around the globe, be glad you don’t have to watch with Yankees telling you what is going on. Evidentally, EPSN has a 2nd rate baseball commentator. East Coast time is 5:30 am now – is anyone up for this? SoCal folk, it’s 2:30 – are you up? Asia – this must be about perfect for you time wise.

35 minute countdown: Spain. Always talented and highly rated. How will they do this year? We’ll have an indication of this in about 2.5 hours or less.

40 minute countdown: We were discussing Schvchenko this morning at WCBlog HQ. ChrisO, the France Blogger says he’s exceptional – but needs service. If he plays or doesn’t play, will Ukraine midfielders provide it?

45 minute countdown: See comments below: Schvchenko is out?

50 minute countdown: The spellings of the players on this Ukraine team are rough. I cant spel enyway so pls don’t hold it against me.

60 minute countdown: Bob is out of town today. He is on his way to the Dortomund for the Germany vs Poland game. Preview | LiveBlog

70 minute countdown: Of course, World Cup Blog also has a preview of this game and every other game in this tournament.

75 minute countdown: Ian breaks down Ukraine vs Spain on Spain’s Blog. Andriy previews the game on Ukraine blog and also writes about Schvchenko potential for playing.