Gareth Bale led Wales to their first World Cup since 1958. But Ukraine’s hopes of raising the emotions of a war-torn nation were tragically dashed in Cardiff on Sunday by a 1-0 loss. Despite the visitors dominating the game in soggy circumstances at Cardiff City Stadium, Bale’s free-kick was diverted into his own net by Ukrainian captain Andriy Yarmolenko. In their first competitive match since Russia’s invasion, Ukraine made their country proud by defeating Scotland 3-1 on Wednesday.
Oleksandr Petrakov’s soldiers earned much more from another outstanding performance under the pressure of carrying the dreams of a nation crushed by Russian assault.
The Ukrainian national hymn was cheered by both sides of the stadium before the game. The visitors were motivated rather than hindered by the pressure placed on them, as they had been on their last trip to Scotland in midweek.
They were, however, obliged to pay an exorbitant price for not taking risks and for a single disaster.
After just three minutes, Oleksandr Zinchenko scored, but the Manchester City midfielder was adjudged to have taken his free-kick that caught Wayne Hennessey off guard too soon.Â
Hennessey then had to be on his toes to save Roman Yaremchuk from scoring, before Viktor Tsygankov sliced a great opportunity wide.
Wales hadn’t really put much pressure on the Ukrainian goal, but Bale is a superstar who can change the course of games in an instant.
The 32-year-old is now without a club after finishing his nine-year stint at Real Madrid with a fifth Champions League title last weekend.
Bale has saved his finest for international duty in recent times and will now have the opportunity to add a World Cup to an already illustrious career. Wales Spoil Ukrainian Dreams
On 34 minutes, his free-kick was headed off goal until Yarmolenko attempted to head it to safety but only managed in redirecting the ball beyond the helpless Georgiy Bushchan.
Ukraine declined to be crushed by their tragedy, and they were unfortunate not to be awarded a penalty before halftime when Yarmolenko was clipped inside the area by Joe Allen.
The sequence repeated in the second half, with Rob Page’s men confined within their own half.
The hosts had opportunities to extend their lead on the counter-attack, but Aaron Ramsey steered wide, Brennan Johnson struck the post, and Bale fired weakly into the arms of Bushchan.
At the other end, opportunities kept on coming and going, with Hennessey saving Tsygkanov’s shot before Yaremchuk pushed the rebound wide.  Wales Spoil Ukrainian Dreams
Ben Davies’s last-ditch challenge then denied Yarmolenko a chance at atonement.
Five minutes from time, Hennessey made a fantastic save to deny replacement Artem Dovbyk’s header from hitting the top corner.
Wales are now undefeated in 19 home games dating back almost four years for a cause, as the bulk of the 33,000-strong crowd shouted them home.
The last time Wales competed in a World Cup; they were ousted in the quarterfinals by a goal scored by 17-year-old Pele for Brazil.
This generation of Welsh footballers accomplished the apparently impossible by reaching the Euro 2016 semi-finals in their first major competition in 58 years.
They will now go down in history once again when they play England, the United States, and Iran in November in Qatar.Â
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