Ukraine beat Swiss on penalties

Ukraine beat Switzerland 3-0 on penalties to reach the World Cup quarter-finals on Monday after the teams played out a sterile scoreless draw.

Switzerland missed all three penalties and it was the first time a team had failed to score in a penalty shootout at the World Cup. Ukraine goalkeeper Oleksander Shovkovsky was the hero in the shootout, saving penalties from Marco Streller and Ricardo Cabanas, while Tranquillo Barnetta hit his shot against the bar.

Ukraine were not put off by captain Shevchenko's failure as Artem Milevsky and Serhiy Rebrov converted before Gusev finished the Swiss off sparking wild celebrations among his team mates.

Overall, this was a boring match, with neither side prepared to take risk by committing men forward. Still both teams came close to scoring in the first half with shots that struck the woodwork. Ukraine captain and top scorer Shevchenko was first up, heading down a 21st minute Maxim Kalinichenko free kick, only to see the ball bounce up and off the bar. It would have been the first goal conceded by Switzerland in this World Cup.

Three minutes later Swiss top scorer Alex Frei hit a 25-metre free kick against the top of Oleksander Shovkovsky's post, with midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta failing to turn in the rebound.

The second half was even more sterile with neither keeper tested and neither side prepared to gamble anything. A drawn-out match with the writing on the wall for extra time and penalties.

Soccer Pundit feels that Switzerland deserved an early exit when they are unable to score in a penalty shootout. This is not acceptable for any team with aspirations to advance into the quarter or semi-finals. Usually, if you know that your team is relatively weak, the training focus will be on set-pieces and penalties to prepare for the match to go to the wire, and the outcome decided by a golden ball or a penalty shootout. Due to the nature of penalties, underdogs usually have an advantage over stronger opponents as they have nothing to lose.

Thus, there is nothing much to be said except for the Swiss to have better luck in the next tournament. Actually, they have not done too badly on the whole. They are the only team to have not concede a goal in regular play thus far and this is a positive for them. A solid defence and an excellent goalkeeper. They can build on this team and by strengthening the frontline, they should be a difficult team to beat. They do not have to wait too long to show their worth as they are co-hosting the 2008 European Championship with Austria.

Ukraine, meanwhile, faces Italy in the quarter finals. For a debutant at the World Cup, this is already a dream for many of the players. Now they face a top-notch opposition but their best hope, Shevchenko, is still blowing hot and cold. His missed penalty will not have done much to his confidence and with the weight of the nation's hopes on his shoulders, he really needs to show his predatory skills soon. Against Italy, one chance is all you may get. Failure to convert and you will pay the price...