Ukraine tonight shocked the United States 3-0 to advance the second stage of the Under-20 World Cup on top of group A.
The highly-fancied Americans were already assured of advancing from group A but they will head into the last 16 on a low note after falling victim to a superb second-half hat-trick from Viktor Kovalenko.
Ukraine shook off an unimpressive opening outing in the goalless draw against New Zealand to dispatch Myanmar 6-0 before cruising past the United States.
In fact, Ukraine's group stage can be divided evenly down the middle. They failed to manage a single strike in their first 135 minutes of action before erupting for nine goals in the second 135.
Kovalenko scored five of those goals on his own, with the Shakhtar Donetsk striker firing a rapid hat-trick to break open an even opening half. Ukraine enjoyed more possession and the better of the chances in a strangely off night for the US, consigning them to a round-of-16 clash with the second-placed team in group C.
