Wales vs Ukraine LIVE: World Cup play-off final result as Welsh book spot at Qatar 2022

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Robert Page is aiming to be the author of a fresh chapter in Welsh football history by emulating Jimmy Murphy’s journey from Rhondda to World Cup manager.

Murphy, who was Matt Busby’s long-time assistant at Manchester United, remains the only man to have guided Wales to the 1958 World Cup.

He steered United through the immediate disaster of the 1958 Munich Air Disaster as Busby lay in hospital for several weeks, having missed the trip himself in order to take charge of Wales’ World Cup play-off against Israel in Cardiff.

Two men from the same mining community who used the values of comradeship and solidarity forged in the Rhondda Valley to establish successful careers in football.

Murphy won his World Cup play-off and led Wales to the quarter-finals of the tournament in Sweden that summer; now 64 years on Page has a similar date with destiny against Ukraine in Cardiff on Sunday.

“I’m very proud of my upbringing and my heritage, absolutely,” said Page, who grew up in Tylorstown less than four miles from Murphy’s childhood home in Pentre.

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Wales are set to take Italy’s planned training base should they qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Italy were dumped out of the competition by North Macedonia in March, the Balkans minnows upsetting the European champions with a 1-0 play-off semi-final victory in Palermo.

The PA news agency understands that Wales will move into the training base that had been earmarked for the Azzurri should they beat Ukraine in Cardiff on Sunday.

Wales have not played at a World Cup since 1958, but a play-off final victory would see them allocated one of the state-of-the-art base camps to be used for the tournament in November and December.

So Wales make nine changes from their midweek match while Ukraine’s side stays the same. Will Wales benefit from fresh legs or will Ukraine be able to carry momentum from their semi-final win? Certainly Ukraine were impressive against Scotland and will be filled with confidence.

Ukraine keep the same XI which beat Scotland at Hampden Park in midweek.

Ukraine: Bushchan; Karavaev, Zabarnyi, Matvienko, Mykolenko; Stepanenko; Yarmolenko, Malinovskyi, Zinchenko, Tsygankov; Yaremchuk.

Ukraine left everything on the pitch at Hampden, to the extent that they did not have the energy to celebrate Artem Dovbyk’s late goal in the south west corner of the stadium. Their challenge now is to go again in Cardiff on Sunday, where another ferocious atmosphere awaits for a nation who have not qualified for a World Cup in over 70 years. “It’s difficult to imagine it will be louder than here,” Malinovskyi smiled.

“I think it will be a similar game,” he added. “We have four days to recover, I think it’s enough, and the important thing is to be ready mentally. They play at home also and it is a final, they will push but we must be ready to play calmly, not force it, and play smartly in this game also.” Stepanenko nodded. “Yes,” he said. “We will be ready.”

They have already given their people so much. Those in Ukraine who were forced to watch underground and in shelters as air-raid sirens wailed across the country had a moment to celebrate. The Ukraine fans bathed in yellow and blue in the corner stayed long after the full-time whistle, soaking up the scene and embracing the pride that only a victory like this could bring.

But deep inside Hampden in the Ukraine dressing room it was an altogether different picture, one that spoke of a job that is only half complete. “We need to be calm and focus on the next game,” Malinovskyi warned. “This win is important but if we don’t win the next game it’s for nothing.”

Robert Page brings back his big-hitters after a heavily rotated side lost to Poland in the Nations League in mid-week. Here is how Wales line up this evening:

Wales: Hennessey; Ampadu, Rodon, B Davies; C Roberts, Ramsey, Allen, N Williams; Bale, James, Moore.

Once the dust had settled on a victory that could be heard across the world the reaction from the Ukrainian players was as calm and collected as the performance that had preceded it. The country is now one win away from qualifying for a World Cup amid war and yet on an evening of intense emotions at Hampden the defining characteristics of Ukraine’s display was of cool heads and minds rather than the burning passion of their hearts.

That had been key as well to a remarkable team performance on an extraordinary night. It was impossible not to be moved by the sight of the Ukraine players emerging into the late Glasgow sunshine draped in their flag and for a moment, as a country’s hopes narrowed on the 11 players standing together on the Hampden pitch, the sound of the national anthem brought tears to their eyes.

“This game for our nation was unbelievable,” said Taras Stepanenko, who had not played a competitive fixture since December and yet excelled in midfield to help steer Ukraine to a crucial 3-1 win in the play-off semi-final. The players who collapsed in exhaustion at the full-time whistle returned to the dressing room to find hundreds of messages from family and friends, as well as those in the army currently fighting on the front line.

“I feel so good and so happy that it gives some positive energy for the people in Ukraine who are in the war, soldiers and normal people,” said Ruslan Malinovskyi, another standout performer at Hampden alongside Oleksandr Zinchenko. “We have a lot of contact with a lot of people on the front. They texted before the game saying, ‘Guys we are with you. Do your job on the pitch and we’ll do our job to protect our country.’”

There was already so much to admire about this Ukraine team but perhaps something had been overlooked along the way. As they progressed in their mission to qualify for the World Cup, it was not heart and bravery that saw them overcome Scotland, although that of course played its part. But amid the emotion – and in the face of what might have been an overwhelmingly intimidating atmosphere – this was a clever, clinical and cohesive performance that left no question over who deserves to face Wales in the World Cup play-off final on Sunday, and that is solely talking about sporting merit.

As Artem Dovbyk ran clear to seal Ukraine’s 3-1 win in the final seconds of stoppage time, Oleksandr Zinchenko, who played the pass, collapsed to the pitch. Dovbyk celebrated on his own in the corner – his teammates had nothing left to give. They had left it all out there to claim a victory that is worth more than football. In the corner of Hampden, the Ukraine fans who had supported their team so proudly came together to salute the players who were the heroes on the field.

Ukraine’s head coach Oleksandr Petrakov let out a roar that spoke of the importance of the occasion and for his country to be victorious on this stage. He had told his team not to fear Hampden. After all, this is a team who have faced invasion and the shelling of the Russians. They were made to hang on for the victory but this was gameplan executed with cold and calculated precision. It was a remarkable performance on what was an extraordinary night.

It was a scene that, on its own, was almost as powerful as the performance. It showed how this had gone beyond sport, that it was a football moment like few others.

Artem Dovbyk had just put the ball past Craig Gordon to put Ukraine one game from the World Cup, in a moment that would usually have brought images of euphoria. This was something else, though.

Dovbyk was momentarily left to celebrate on his own, because most of his teammates just sank to the ground. A striking quietness engulfed Hampden Park, that was unlike anything you ever really experience in a stadium, and reflected the extremes this had gone to.

The Ukrainian players left all their emotion on the pitch, to quote their manager Oleksandr Petrakov, so could do little more than lie there. They were utterly exhausted but it was that kind of exhilarated exhaustion that only comes from going to the very limits.

They aren’t done yet, of course. “We go to Wales,” Petrakov said.