Oleksandr Zinchenko was involved in a Ukraine defeat to Canada on Saturday, but he did win and score a penalty to spare some of his side’s blushes.
Whether Saturday’s game between Canada and Ukraine was technically a competitive fixture is up for debate, with the teams taking part in an invitational tournament dubbed the “Canadian Shield”.
The fixture certainly wasn’t very competitive on the pitch, with Canada racing into a 3-0 lead within 31 minutes thanks to goals from Jonathan David and Promise David.
With the game already beyond Ukraine, Tajon Buchanan scored in the 81st minute to make sure of the win. But then there was a late rally by Ukraine to at least make the scoreline more respectable.
First, Illya Zabarnyi pulled one back in the 89th minute with a finish from close range, then Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko won his team an injury-time penalty.
Picking the ball up in the penalty area, Zinchenko laid it off to Vladyslav Kabaiev, whose powerful shot was well saved. But Zinchenko pressured the rebound and won the ball back, kicking it up onto the hand of Canada’s Buchanan for a penalty.
Zinchenko stepped up to the spot and comfortably fired a left-footed shot into the left corner for 4-2.
With just a minute remaining in the match, there wasn’t any time for Ukraine to change the result, but perhaps the late boost to goal difference will end up affecting the team’s final position in the tournament.
Ukraine face New Zealand in their other match on Tuesday, whilst Canada face the Ivory Coast. After that, the final standings will be confirmed, with Ukraine not due to face the Ivory Coast directly.