Ukraine Tops United States In Friendly Match

 2-0 

Political instability in the Ukraine was the looming factor in today's international friendly match against the United States.  The match was originally scheduled to be played in the Ukraine, but civil unrest and a foreign military presents forced the match to be relocated.  The United States met the Ukrainian national team in Cyprus for the friendly in a near empty stadium.

The Ukraine opted to fielded a more experienced side while the United States had a more jumbled line-up as coach Jürgen Klinsmann continues to search for the right combination.  The defense for the U.S. was particularly suspect with a struggling veteran Oguchi Onyewu and an inexperienced John Anthony Brooks in front of Howard in goal.

The Ukraine scored early in the first-half when Denis Garmash beat the offsides-trap to create a shot on target.  Keeper Tim Howard did well to stop the initial shot, but the rebound came back to Garmash.  He then laid the ball off to Yevhen Yarmolenko who scored with an easy tap-in finish (12').

After the break both teams made several changes over the course of the second-half as friendlies allow more substitutions than tournament matches.  One of the substututes for the Ukraine was Marko Devic who was quick to contribute.  A long ball over the top allowed Devic to run right through the U.S. defense and get a shot at goal.  Again keeper Howard made a good save to deny the initial shot, but the rebound fell to Devic who scored with the second chance (67').

The United States were outplayed for nearly the entire match.  There was a moment in the second-half when the U.S. showed signs of producing a goal, but the best chances did not find the net.  Starting forward Josy Altidore only had one real chance and he missed high with a header.  Clint Dempsey's best chance was really a half-chance that was snuffed out by Ukraine keeper Pyatov coming off his line.

Winning was not nessessarily the goal for the United States in today's friendly match, rather further assessment for Jürgen Klinsmann heading into the World Cup.  The Ukraine team did not qualify for the World Cup so for them the match was about pride and maybe even distraction.  In this sense the match was a success for both nations as the Ukraine get the satisfaction of victory and Klinsman now knows more about his players.  Most noticably, Klinsman knows John Anthony Brooks is nowhere near ready for the national side.

Ukraine Shutout France in World Cup Qualifier

 2-0 

Several nations in the UEFA groups have already qualified for the 2014 World Cup including Germany, Spain, England, Italy, Russia, and the Netherlands.  Others like Portugal, Greece, Croatia, and Sweden still have a chance to qualify through a playoff round.  France and the Ukraine are among the nations paired up in the playoff round for a spot in Brazil next summer.

Niether side settled into the match during the second-half with France playing decently well in midfield, but poor in the attacking third.  The Ukraine on the other hand were stout in defense and pushing forward almost exclusively on counter-attacks.  France had the star power in the likes of Ribèry, Nasri, Evra, and Giroud, but the Ukraine had better chemistry and used that familiarity to break the French defense.

In the second-half Roman Zozulya scored the first goal of the match for the Ukraine.  Edmar Aparesida played the forward behind the French defense with a first-touch pass and Zozulya scored from close range (61').

France used all three substitutions hoping give life to their offense with Benzema, Sissoko, and Valbuena entering the match.  Unfortunatley, nobody on the French side could beat the sturdy Ukraine defense and the lead stretched further when Kocienly was called for a Penalty.  The centerback knocked down Zozulya in the box to conceded the Penalty and saw a yellow card for his offense.  Yarmolenko scored from the spot and the Ukraine were rather comfortable from then on (82').

Koscielny made his day worse when he got into a scrap with Olexandr Kucher.  Koscielny hit the Ukraine captain and saw a red card for his senseless action, leaving him inelligable for the upcoming rematch.  Olexandr Kucher returned the favor though, as he saw a second yellow card in stoppage-time making him also inelligable for the rematch.

France are in a tight hole behind two goal to a very strong defensive team.  France should play better in front of their home fans, but the Ukraine are certainly in the favorable position.