Ukraine's men's national football team defeated Albania in the group stage of the Nations League, which allowed it to qualify for the playoffs for a place in the top division. This was reported by the Ukrainian Football Association, UNN reports.
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In order to keep their chances of promotion, the Ukrainians had to win, as a defeat would automatically send the team to Division C. And they fulfilled the task perfectly, opening the scoring in the 7th minute thanks to a goal by Oleksandr Zinchenko. Three minutes later, Roman Yaremchuk doubled the Ukrainians' lead.
Albania was able to respond in the 75th minute when they were awarded a penalty kick and cut the deficit to 1-2.
The match ended in a victory for Ukraine.
Thanks to this success and the Czech Republic's parallel victory over Georgia, the Ukrainian national team climbed to second place in the group, giving it a chance to continue its fight for the playoffs to reach Division A of the Nations League.