Slovakia scored first thanks to a header by Ivan Schranz and kept Ukraine at bay all through the first half to go into half-time leading 1 – 0.

But in the 54th minute of the second half, Man of the Match Mykola Shaparenko equalised with a close-range finish.  He was also instrumental in the second goal, passing to Yaremchuk who scored the winning goal.  

Reuters reports the win was also celebrated in Kyiv, where president Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised the team in his nightly video address.

In one of the night’s other matches, a superb second-half performance by Austria resulted in a 3 – 1 victory over Poland, who become the first side to be eliminated from the tournament.

Both teams scored in the first half - Gernot Trauner for Austria and Krzysztof Piatek for Poland – but it was Austria who came out guns blazing in the second half. Christian Baumgartner scored in the 66th minute and Marko Arnautovic sunk a penalty to keep Austria’s chances of reaching the next round alive.

Friday’s third match between France and the Netherlands ended in a goalless draw.  Both teams will get a point from the match, leaving both sides within sight of a place in the last 16.

Saturday will see Georgia face the Czech Republic, Turkey will come up against Portugal and Belgium will take on Romania.

OFM Sport/Ilse Smalberger