Now the team needs just one more win to reach Qatar.
Veteran captain Andriy Yarmolenko lifted his nation by scoring a deft lobbed goal in the 33rd minute and then helped set up Roman Yaremchuk바카라s header in the 49th to make it 2-0.
Ukraine dominated for much of a deserved win but had to resist a Scotland revival as risk-filled attacks brought a goal in the 79th by Callum McGregor, before Ukraine substitute Artem Dovbyk broke clear to score with the last kick of the game.
Dovbyk led teammates toward the corner of the stadium to share the celebration with 3,000 Ukraine fans in the 51,000 crowd, applauding each other with hands raised high above their heads.
Ukraine coach Oleksandr Petrakov said the win was for 바카라the armed forces in the trenches and in the hospitals, who give their last drop of blood, those in Ukraine who suffer every day.바카라
Now Ukraine moves on to face Wales on Sunday with a place at the World Cup at stake.
The winner in Cardiff will go to Qatar in November to play in a group against England, the United States and Iran.
Ukraine put in a slick display despite using six starters who had not played a competitive game of any kind since December.
Most of Ukraine바카라s squad play for home-based clubs whose league was shut down after Russia바카라s invasion, and the playoff in Glasgow was postponed in March. FIFA and Scotland agreed to give the Ukrainian team a fair chance to prepare for games that have become a focus of national identity and pride.
Scotland lacked the class needed and its wait for World Cup soccer now extends beyond the 24 years since it went to the 1998 tournament.
바카라I am suffering, the coaching staff are suffering and more than anybody the players are suffering,바카라 Scotland coach Steve Clarke said. 바카라The best team won the game.바카라
Ukraine바카라s win could have been sealed sooner but for saves early and often by 39-year-old Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon. When the Scots chased a way back into the game, John McGinn placed a 67th-minute header inexplicably wide from close range.
Ukraine is riding a wave of global goodwill as the victim of Russian aggression and its players바카라 intense motivation to reward the nation with a place on soccer바카라s biggest stage was clear.
The Ukrainian players all walked onto the field each with a blue and yellow national flag draped on their shoulders.
The warm welcome saw Ukraine바카라s national anthem 바카라Shche ne vmerla Ukrainas바카라 applauded loudly by Scotland fans. Many of those same fans stayed after the game to salute their victorious opponents off the field.
바카라Also I give my gratitude to the people of Scotland 바카라 an amazing, hospitable place,바카라 Petrakov said.
Some of the Ukrainian fans had traveled far and had made plans to stay in Britain for the decisive playoff Sunday.
George Butromeyev told The Associated Press before the game he came from Toronto with friends to support the players who 바카라need to show the people of Ukraine that we are warriors.바카라
바카라It바카라s not only about football,바카라 said Yaroslav Grygorenko, who traveled from Amsterdam. 바카라It바카라s important to be on the top of the discussions here in Europe, to not let (people) forget what is happening in Ukraine.바카라
Scotland-born Alex Demianczuk wore a kilt in Ukrainian yellow and blue colors and wanted his parents바카라 nation to advance. Ukraine playing at the World Cup, he said, would be 바카라something that바카라s really going to get on (Russian President Vladimir) Putin바카라s nerves.바카라
In Kyiv, fans determined to get together to see the match had the war-time night-time curfew to contend with, which kicked in at 11 p.m. local time, before the start of the second half.
The Beer & Meet bar in downtown Kyiv got around the restriction on movement by offering fans the possibility to stay there until 5 a.m., when the curfew ends.
Police swung by the bar in a patrol car a few minutes before kickoff, asking fans who had gathered outside to go down into the drinking hole바카라s basement rooms, because of an air-raid warning.
Oleksii Safin, 40, who works as a voice actor, stood with his right hand over his heart as he belted out the national anthem. He and other supporters erupted in celebration when Ukraine scored first. But the war raging in the east of the country wasn바카라t forgotten.
바카라It looks like we are having lots of fun but, actually, we are not,바카라 Safin said. 바카라We are trying to look normal, as far as we can, but we still remember what is going on out in the east.
바카라It바카라s a good fight, just like the fight that we have right now with the Russians,바카라 Safin said. 바카라We can show that we can do it.바카라
