Top > Sport > 2006 > June > 2006-06-21

Ukraine Stays in the Picture with 4 ? 0 Against The Saudis

After losing 4 ? 0 to Spain, Ukraine wanted to show that they know how to play soccer and surprised Saudi Arabia with four goals. The Saudis lost any real chance of making it to the next stage, and Ukraine got 3 very important points making them the second team in the group after Spain which already secured a ticket for the next round.

"It was difficult to lose 4-0, but everyone understood at that stage that the tournament was far from finished, and we had to concentrate on the next two games if we wanted to go through," Shevchenko said. "Ukraine is a strong team and we have to show we are strong."

Ukraine`s final match of the first stage will take place on June 23 when they meet Tunisia. Ukraine can very well be the second team that advances to the next stage from Group H if they only beat Tunisia. Ukraine was one of the favorites, along with Spain, to advance from Group H and it`s good to see that their sore defeat by Spain didn`t crash their spirit.