Dramatic, Ukraine Sends Sweden Home With Extra-time Injury Goal

Artem Dovbyk (Twitter @euro2020)

JAKARTA - A dramatic goal created in the last minutes of added time ensured the Ukrainian national team beat Sweden, who had to finish the match with 10 men, 2-1 in the last 16 of Euro 2020 at Hampden Park Stadium, Glasgow, Wednesday, 30 June morning.

Artem Dovbyk scored the decisive goal for Ukraine's victory which was created in the first minute of injury time in the second extra time.

The previous match had to go into extra time after Ukraine's lead through Olexandr Zinchenko could be returned by Emil Forsberg for Sweden.

However, Sweden had to finish the match with 10 men following a red card received by Marcus Danielsson in the 99th minute, as Antara reported according to the official UEFA website.

This victory takes Ukraine to the quarter-finals, their longest run at the Euros since separating from the Soviet Union, and Andriy Shevchenko's team will face England in Rome on Saturday, July 3.

⏰ RESULT ⏰

🇺🇦 Zinchenko & Dovbyk net as Ukraine book their place in the quarter-finals

🇸🇪 Sweden exit at the round of 16 stage#EURO2020

— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) June 29, 2021

Like a match between two teams that are not seeded champions, Sweden and Ukraine featured a relatively even match from the start.

Goalkeeper Robin Olsen was forced into a save first to deny Roman Yaremchuk's shot in the 11th minute before Sweden's chance through Dejan Kulusevski's cross could not be met by Forsberg's header.

In the 27th minute, Ukraine took the lead through their quick attack, ending with Andriy Yarmolenko's cross which the Swedish defense failed to anticipate. The ball bounced off the right-hand side of the Swedish penalty area, where Zinchenko stood unmarked to volley a shot that gave Olsen no chance to react.

Three minutes later, Sebastian Larsson almost stole a goal with a free-kick that went unnoticed by goalkeeper Heorhii Bushchan, fortunately the Dynamo Kiev goalkeeper reacted quickly to jump and parry the ball.

Ukraine continued to try to maintain their lead which was finally lost two minutes before halftime when Forsberg fired hard from outside the penalty area and the ball hit an Illia Zabarnyi effort which instead saw his pace swerve around Bushchan and the score was tied 1-1.

Both teams put in an impressive display at the start of the second half but both had their chances saved by the post.

Ukraine came close to restoring their lead in the 55th minute when Serhiy Sydorchuk raced in from the middle to find Yarmolenko's cross but his shot just out of reach for Olsen hit the post.

A minute later it was Sweden's turn to suffer the same fate, when Alexander Isak's cross was cleared for Forsberg with a curling effort but the ball ended up hitting the bottom of the post.

Isak should have put Sweden back in front in the 60th minute when they slipped through the net and picked up Albin Ekdal's long ball, but his finishing shot was not clear and ended up off target.

🇺🇦 Ukraine are into the EURO quarter-finals for the first time in their history! 🎉🎉🎉#EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/IsGoNXzKU8

— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) June 29, 2021

Sweden slowly threatened more but Kulusevski's curling effort in the 66th minute was stopped by Bushchan and three minutes later Forsberg's dipping shot was denied by the crossbar.

The tempo of the match slowly slowed and a minute before the normal dispersal, Kulusevski almost beat Bushchan from a tight angle but Zabarnyi this time brilliantly made a turn, forcing the 1-1 scoreline to hold and the match continued into extra time 2x15 minutes.

Eight minutes into stoppage time, referee Daniele Orsato was advised by VAR to review Danielso's tackle on Artem Besedin.

After watching live replays on the pitchside monitor, Orsato increased the penalty that was originally a yellow card to a red card.

The 11 against 10 situation gave Ukraine more control over the game, but the match was mostly marked by the spread of players from both teams due to small contacts.

In the 111th minute, Ruslan Malinovskiy sent a through ball that could be chased by Dovbyk, but the finish was saved by Olsen over the crossbar. Even if the goal is likely to be disallowed because the lines judge has raised the offside flag on the edge of the field.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 121st minute when Zinchenko sent in a precise cross and Dovbyk was able to break free from control to head the ball into Sweden's goal, sealing the victory for Ukraine.