Wales ended their 64-year wait for a place in the World Cup finals as they beat Ukraine 1-0 on Sunday to end the war-torn nation's hopes of reaching Qatar.
An own goal from Ukraine winger Andriy Yarmolenko, who headed a Gareth Bale free-kick into his own net, decided the contest.
It was a cruel way for Ukraine's qualification effort to end with Oleksandr Petrakov's side, who beat Scotland in the playoff semi-final, again showing a level of football which would have certainly merited a place in November's 32-team tournament.
With half the team not having played competitive club football since the Russian invasion in February and with their nation's tragedy never far from their minds, Ukraine deserve huge credit for coming so close to making the finals for the second time in their country's history as an independent nation.
"We did everything we could. I want to say sorry that we didn’t score but this is sport," said Petrakov.
"I do not have any criticism of any player in the team."
There were emotional scenes at the end of the game as Ukraine's disappointed players showed their appreciation to their more than 2,000 supporters at the Cardiff City Stadium.
They were then joined by the Wales players who, before undertaking their own lap of honour, also saluted the Ukrainian fans.
