Ukraine flex muscles to overwhelm San Marino

Ukraine flexed their muscles ahead of the key upcoming home qualifier against England by cruising past San Marino to join second-placed Montenegro on 14 points in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying Group H.

Yevhen Khacheridi scored twice, with the remaining goals coming from eight difference scorers as the hosts overwhelmed their guests. The final scoreline broke their previous biggest win – the 6-0 triumph against Bulgaria in July. 

It was one-way traffic from the outset as Mikhail Fomenko's charges attacked at will and refused San Marino a moment to catch their breath until the final whistle. Ukrainian Premier League top scorer Marko Dević started the ball rolling on 11 minutes; Yevhen Seleznyov, Edmar and Khacheridi added more goals before the break.

The Blue and Yellows kept their foot on the accelerator in the second half and soon matched their previous highest number of goals, Yevhen Konoplyanka and a second for centre-back Khacheridi making it 6-0. Fomenko made two substitutions on the hour and one of the new faces, Roman Bezus, needed just three minutes to scored the seventh goal.

Defenders Artem Fedetskiy and Yaroslav Rakitskiy rounded off the scoring which puts Ukraine in a positive mindset and a healthy position before the all-important England game in Kyiv on Tuesday.