Ukraine to the quarter-finals, where it will face the winner of Spain-Venezuela

Ukraine beat the Netherlands and advanced to the quarter-finals / Photo: FIFA Press

Two goals from Andrii Melnyk in the final stretch of the match were decisive in Ukraine becoming the second team to reach the quarter-finals of the Uzbekistan 2024 Futsal World Cup, a round in which it will face the winner of the Spain-Venezuela match on Wednesday.

The Ukrainians beat the Netherlands 3-1 and frustrated the dream of the team coached by the Spaniard Miguel Andrés, who made it 1-1 in the 28th minute with a goal from Saïd Bouzambou, but Melnyk, in the 30th and 29th, was on target to secure victory at the Humo Arena in Tashkent.

Plan executed

The plan worked perfectly for Oleksandr Kosenko’s team, who scored early, five minutes into the first half with a goal from defender Mykhailo Zvarych.

The two teams then exchanged chances, but the score remained the same until the second half, as evidenced by the similar offensive statistics, with both teams creating 11 chances on target, with 42 for Ukraine and 31 for the Netherlands, who returned to the World Cup after 24 years.

Taskent / EFE