Ukraine book spot in World Cup playoffs with win over Iceland

WARSAW :Ukraine's Oleksandr Zubkov powered home a header late in the second half and Oleksii Hutsuliak added a second goal to book their spot in the playoffs for next year's World Cup as they beat Group D rivals Iceland 2-0 in Warsaw on Sunday.

The two sides were level on points heading into the match but Ukraine needed the win to earn second spot behind group winners France, with Iceland boasting a better goal difference.

Midfielder Zubkov delivered with his first international goal for three years in the 83rd minute and Hutsuliak's stoppage-time effort made the result safe.

Forward Viktor Tsygankov nearly got Ukraine on the board in the 24th minute when his shot from outside the box ricocheted off the crossbar and Iceland's goalkeeper Elias Olafsson dived to keep out another attempt from striker Vladyslav Vanat 16 minutes later.

Iceland withstood an all-out attack from Ukraine in the second half, as Olafsson threw his body in front of Hutsuliak's back-to-back attempts from close range in the 82nd minute.

But a minute later, Zubkov headed in off the far post after a corner was flicked on by Hutsuliak, who then found the back of the net with a deflected effort three minutes into stoppage time.