Ukraine wilted in the heat as Spain struck early and often for an easy 4-0 win. Shevchenko, warming up for his role at Chelsea, was non-existant. The entire Ukraine team put in a pathetic effort, and Spain just coasted.
It was only 2-0 when a horrible call gave a penalty to Spain, making it 3 and Ukraine was a man down. They seemed like they were about 4 or 5 men down from the start, though. They were never in it, and the only question was how many Spain wanted to score.
It’s hard to tell if Spain are really clicking or not. They sat Reyes, and Fabregas and Raul only made a run-out to stretch the legs late. Ukraine wouldn’t have beaten anyone today.
I wasn’t able to watch the game, it is disappointing to hear that the Ukraine played so bad as I have them as my Cinderella, based on their strong showing in the qualifications leading up to the World Cup.
In the run up to the Cup, the Ukraine had a tough group including Euro 2004 Champ Greece, who they handled 1 nil. Ukraine finished first in that group.
By the sound of the score either Spain had a perfect day or more likely the Ukraine had a bad day or … worse, they were ill prepared.
on the other hand, i am watching Saudi vs. Tunisia right now and these are two teams that look as bad or worse than the USA played the other day so as long as Ukraine recovers from the embarassment, they should finish 2nd in Group.
Hats off to Spain in any case. 4 nil is a helluva result for the historically underachieving Spanish team