Ukraine win penalty shootout; beat Switzerland for quarter-final spot

Ukraine beat Switzerland 3-0 in a penalty shootout to get to the quarter-finals of the 2006 Fifa World Cup after a goalless deadlock, Monday.

Both teams started the game knowing their round of sixteen opponents were not ranked in the Fifa top 10 and appeared determined not to make mistakes. Tackles went in quick and hard but no side took any risks to win the game.

The statistics suggest Switzerland had more shots but they arguably were the more defensive team as they had started with one forward, Alexander Frei, whereas the Ukraine had three.

Frei's single shot came from a first period free kick which shook Oleksandr Shovkovskyi's lintel. Ukraine's forward men amassed six shots; Andriy Shevchenko went closest on 20 minutes when his diving header came off the ground and onto the crossbar.

Ukraine did not play well and despite their more attack-minded formation were so wasteful with possession that they made statistically fewer chances than the Swiss with their 4-5-1 formation. Switzerland had 55 per cent of the ball in the game.

From a viewer's perspective the Mexican referee Benito Archundia was lenient with tough challenges. A game with 44 fouls - one every three minutes - had only one yellow card. The yellow card was awarded on the hour to Tranquillo Barnetta for pushing a Ukrainian player as he ran toward the penalty area.

15 minutes each way for extra-time was not used effectively by the teams; neither side attacked hard and in the second period there were no shots at all. Switzerland almost got one but Andriy Gusin blocked Marco Streller 12 yards from goal.

Ukraine took and missed the first penalty but won the shootout 3-0 after Artem Milevskiy scored first with a impudent chip down the middle. For the Swiss Barnetta hit the bar, and then Shovkovskyi made two saves low to his right and left to send Ukraine through to a quarter-final match against Italy.

Switzerland was eliminated from World Cup competition without having conceded a goal during the entire tournament (excluding penalty shootout goals), the first time this has happened in World Cup history.

Round of sixteen

Match 54

Attendance: 45'000

Penalties

NotesResultNotesResultShevchenko Saved low rightXMilevskiyStraight chipStrellerSaved low rightXRebrov Hard low leftBarnettaCrossbar rightXGusev Hard low rightCabanas Saved low leftX

Notes are from the goalkeeper's view.

Formations

Ukraine

Right wingRightCenterLeft Left wing Oleksandr Shovkovskyi (GK) Vladyslav Vashchuk Andriy Nesmachnyi Anatoliy Tymoschuk Oleg Shelayev Andriy Gusin Oleg Gusev Maksym Kalinichenko Andriy Voronin Andriy Shevchenko (C) Andriy Vorobey

Substitutes

75' Ruslan Rotan for Kalinichenko

94' Serhiy Rebrov for Vorobey

111' Artem Milevskiy for Voronin

denotes one goal scored.

Switzerland

Right wingRightCenterLeft Left wing Pascal Zuberbuehler (GK) Phillipp Degen Johan Djourou Patrick Mueller Ludovic Magnin Johann Vogel (C) Ricardo Cabanas Raphael Wicky Hakan Yakin Tranquillo Barnetta 59' Alexander Frei

Substitutes

34' Stephane Grichting for Djourou

64' Marco Streller for Yakin

117' Mauro Lustrinelli for Frei

denotes one goal scored.

Officials

Referee: Benito Archundia

Assistant referee: Jose Ramirez

Assistant referee: Hector Vergara

Fourth referee: Jerome Damon

Fifth referee: Justice Yeboah