Cardiff (AP) – Unlucky Andriy Jarmolenko put his hands in front of his face and shook his head. The captain was inconsolable, Ukraine missed out on the World Cup with his own goal of all things.
Jarmolenko headed a free-kick from Wales captain Gareth Bale into his own goal in the 34th minute, sealing the unfortunate 1-0 (0-1) defeat in Cardiff in the play-off final.
While the sad but proud guests applauded their fans with their heads held high, the Welshmen celebrated their last place in Europe at the championship from November 21st to December 18th in Cardiff in continuous rain in Qatar. This is Wales’ second World Cup appearance since 1958. There, in Group B, England, Iran and the USA are the opponents.
“Sometimes football can be so painful”
“We showed our character. I’m so proud of our performance today. Sometimes football can be so painful. The player of the match today was the Wales goalkeeper, which means we were really good, created a lot of chances but unfortunately didn’t score,” said Oleksandr Zinchenko on the BeIN Sports TV channel.
“My priority was to be at the World Cup this year. That was the last goal I wanted to achieve in my career,” Bale told the TV station. Speaking to Sky Sports, he added: “It’s the biggest result in the history of Welsh football. We’re all thrilled. It’s what dreams are made of and what we’ve worked for from the start.”