"Ukraine toasted its football heroes on Tuesday after the team defied expectations to secure a place in the quarter-finals of their first-ever FIFA World Cup™ by beating Switzerland 3-0 in a penalty shoot-out.
"It seemed impossible but it happened. It was beyond strength but the strength was found,"
"Let's call it like it is: They're heroes," one sports commentator said at the end of a match that the Ukrainians won after the game had finished locked at 0-0 after extra time.
Thousands of Ukrainians shouting "U-krai-na!" took to the streets throughout the former Soviet republic after the game that finished in the early hours of the morning. In the capital Kiev, fans virtually took over the centre of town for hours, waving the blue and yellow national standard from honking cars and motorcycles.
In the western city of Lviv, hundreds converged on the central square singing the national anthem. In the eastern city of Dnipropetrovsk, they celebrated until sunrise. "This is more than a dream," exalted one fan in Kiev. "Our guys are the best!"
Ukraine has been in need of some good news and its football team has provided it.
"The successful performances of the Ukraine team are working to unite Ukraine and instil patriotism," President Viktor Yushchenko said after congratulating the team on their historic win, according to a statement from his office.
"The president thanked the players and training staff for the wonderful present that they have given their fans," the statement said.
The victory over Switzerland was all the more sweet because it was largely unexpected from a team making their first-ever appearance at the FIFA World Cup and beaten 4-0 by Spain in their opening match at the tournament.
"I don't think that anyone really believed in us," head coach Oleg Blokhin said in a post-match interview, according to the Interfax news agency. "Many people had long ago written us off, thinking that debutants can't be competitive against experienced teams. Today we proved that we know how to play football. I'm in seventh heaven."
In a nation where the average monthly wage is 185 dollars (147 euros) and where nationals need a visa to get into the EU, the number of fans able to travel to Germany to support the team has been few, and most have had to contend with watching the matches at home.
But the whole nation seems to have caught the football bug - fans watch the matches on screens set up in the nation's major cities, most bars and restaurants broadcast the games and overflow with clients; lawmakers wear team jerseys to parliament and business comes to a standstill during the matches."
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