It is rare for a nation to be so powerfully seized by football mania that its Cabinet of Ministers wear the national team’s uniform after a victory in the Euro 2020 round of 16.
But the context of Ukraine’s dramatic 2-1 win over Sweden in the historic footballing city of Glasgow explains the exuberance.
Few pundits expected the Yellow and Blues to make it past the Swedes into the final eight teams contending for the championship. But the Ukrainians proved their doubters wrong. They will now play the red-hot England team, which is favored to win in Rome on July 3 (game time is 10 p.m.).
This is the first time that the Ukrainian national team has reached the knockout phase of the European Championship finals.
It’s only ever made it to the quarter-final of one other major tournament. In the 2006 World Cup, Ukraine was knocked out by Italy after overcoming Switzerland in a round of 16 contest, which the Guardian newspaper later described as “the dullest game in World Cup history.”
Fast-forward 15 years, and there was nothing tedious about the Yellow and Blues’ match on June 29. The game flowed rapidly from one end to the other, with two goals in the first half, three shots hitting the post in the second, and an ending worthy of a Hollywood thriller.
England’s journey to the quarter-final was no less momentous. Hours before Ukraine’s victory, the Three Lions broke a 55-year curse by finally beating Germany in a major tournament.
They last defeated the Germans in the 1966 World Cup final, earning England the only international trophy it’s ever won.
Five years of progress
For Ukraine, reaching the quarterfinals is a reward for five years of progress made under the management of Andriy Shevchenko, the country’s biggest living football legend.
Ukraine’s all-time top scorer put his reputation on the line when he took on the job of rebuilding a deflated national team that had just been unceremoniously dumped out of Euro 2016, having lost all three of its group games.
The team was rudderless, in need of a complete overhaul after the retirement of stalwarts such as Shevchenko, Anatoliy Tymoschuk, and Oleg Husyev.
When the Yellow and Blues narrowly failed to make the 2018 World Cup, the Ukrainian Association of Football stuck with Shevchenko.
London-based Ukrainian football expert Andrew Todos sees the first two years of Shevchenko’s management as “sub-par” but also maintains that since the disappointment of 2018 he has done a “superb job”.
“He’s instilled a more European footballing philosophy into the team with his Italian backroom staff,” Todos told the Kyiv Post. “He’s created a mentality where Ukraine don’t drop their heads when they go behind.”
“There’s a self-belief in the players, a very good work ethic, and a team mentality of togetherness that I don’t think has ever been there before.”
Ukraine enjoyed a barnstorming Euro 2020 qualifying campaign, in which it won six of its eight games and drew the other two. Highlights included the 5-0 thrashing of Serbia in Lviv and a 2-1 victory over reigning European champion Portugal in Kyiv.
Making history
After reaching the tournament, Ukraine sometimes struggled under the pressure.
After coming back from trailing 2-0 against the Netherlands, the Yellow and Blues collapsed to a late 3-2 defeat. They also failed to pull themselves together after conceding an early goal against Austria in the final group game, which ended 1-0.
Nevertheless, Ukraine progressed to the knockout phase, thanks to its 2-1 win over North Macedonia and a lucky break with the other teams. Ironically, it was Sweden’s 3-2 victory against Poland which sealed Ukraine’s place in the last 16.
Shevchenko’s men repaid their Scandinavian opponents by eliminating them from the tournament in a game that went down to the wire.
Both sides grabbed a goal apiece in the first half, but despite several dangerous moments in the second period, the game went into extra time.
The tempo heated up after the 99th minute, when Swedish center-back Marcus Danielson was sent off for a reckless sliding tackle on Artem Besedin. The Ukrainian forward looked to be in severe pain as he limped off the field and will now be out of action for up to six months.
In spite of the Yellow and Blues’ numerical advantage, the game looked destined for penalties. This was until Artem Dovbyk met Olexandr Zinchenko’s perfectly weighted cross in the 121st minute and made football history.
The young forward’s first senior goal for Ukraine was also the latest winning strike ever scored at a European Championship, beating French legend Michel Platini’s 1984 record by almost two minutes.
Ukraine’s forward Artem Dovbyk (L) takes a shot at goal during the UEFA EURO 2020 round of 16 football match between Sweden and Ukraine at Hampden Park in Glasgow on June 29, 2021. (AFP)
55 years of hurt
England promises to be an opponent of a whole different magnitude. The Three Lions are now tipped by most bookmakers as tournament favourites, and have yet to concede a goal in the competition.
Their three central defenders create a formidable back line, allowing England to bide their time and play incisive long-range passes to world-class forwards Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling.
They will also be riding a wave of confidence, having just overcome the biggest demon in English football — the 55-year inability to beat Germany in a tournament.
Hatred of the German team is something of an obsession among England fans, who for years have sung provocative songs such as “Two World Wars and one World Cup” to drown out the anguish of bruising defeats in 1990, 1996 and 2010.
The 2021 victory took place on the hallowed turf of Wembley Stadium in London, giving it added poignancy. It is there that the Three Lions won in 1966 but lost in the 1996 semi-final. Gareth Southgate, then a player and now England’s manager, missed a crucial penalty kick that fateful night.
“I can’t change the fact that the guys I played with in ‘96 didn’t get to play in a final. That will always live with me,” he said after England’s victory on Tuesday.
“But what this group of players have been able to do is give a new generation a lot of happy memories and another afternoon where they’ve made a bit of history,” Southgate added, his typically calm voice cracking with emotion.
That group of players will now have to overcome Ukraine in Rome on July 3.
Todos reckons that the contest will be “a slog of a game,” Ukraine lining up defensively once more with five defenders and two holding midfielders.
“They’re going to try and create opportunities either down the wings or through (Roman) Yaremchuk up front.”
“If Ukraine can seize the one or two chances they may get, then anything is possible.”
Todos says that many pundits in England are taking the Three Lions’ victory on Saturday for granted.
“Hopefully Ukraine can spoil that.”
