Wales vs Ukraine ratings: Hennessey 10, Bale 7; Yarmolenko 5

An own goal from Yarmolenko sees Wales clinch a place at World Cup for the first time in 64 years

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  WALES RATINGS: Wayne Hennessey - 10, Held on to Ruslan Malinovskyi’s early free-kick well and continued to impress, dealing with a number of threatening shots from Oleksandr Zinchenko as well as bravely reaching Roman Yaremchuk’s pass ahead of Viktor Tsygankov. Vitally stopped Tsygankov’s shot with his feet, then made an outstanding save to deny Artem Dobvyk. AFP

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  Ethan Ampadu - 8, Played Yaremchuk onside for his early chance, but blocked Zinchenko’s venomous shot and did well to head away a dinked cross meant for Tsygankov. Made some intelligent interventions, including a late one to deny Mykhailo Muryk and win a free-kick to run down the clock. AFP

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  Joe Rodon - 7, Was lucky to see Hennessey collect the ball after his pass was blocked by Zinchenko, and while he wasn’t always accurate with the ball at his feet he did well defensively, recovering when it seemed Yaremchuk might get behind him. Put his body on the line. Getty

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  Ben Davies - 10, Had an ambitious shot blocked for a corner, then rushed out impressively to block Oleksandr Karavaev’s shot in an incredible defensive display. Made a fantastic intervention to deny Yarmolenko when the ball went into his box, then bailed out Joe Allen after he had given the ball away cheaply. Made more heroic blocks to deny Yarmolenko and Karavaev. AFP

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  Connor Roberts - 7, Defended well throughout, notably marshalling the ball back to Hennessey in a precarious position. He also had some positive moments going forward, including a good cross for Brennan Johnson. AFP

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  Aaron Ramsey - 6, Broke up Ukrainian play well at times but also gave the ball away too cheaply on occasions. Delivered a great cross that deserved someone meeting it, missed the target after a brilliant move forward from range then played a great cross to set up Gareth Bale. AFP

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  Joe Allen - 6, Was booked after just two minutes for a late challenge, then could perhaps consider himself fortunate not to have given a penalty away after catching Yarmolenko. Was bailed out by Davies after conceding possession in a dangerous area. Made an important late intervention in his own box. PA

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  Neco Williams - 9, Had various promising early moments in attack, dragging his shot wide after getting past Yarmolenko. Also defended brilliantly, getting back to ensure Zinchenko’s ball to Yaremchuk didn’t pay dividends. Made a vital block to deny Yarmolenko as the game entered extra time. AFP

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  Gareth Bale - 7, Smashed an ambitious shot comfortably over the crossbar, but had moments of quality and his free-kick went in off Yarmolenko’s head for the only goal. Saw his later shot well saved by Georgiy Bushchan. Getty

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  Kieffer Moore - 7, Made some good knockdowns throughout and linked play well but was unable to find the target when a rare chance came. Selflessly picked out Ramsey for the chance that should have resulted in a Wales second. Getty

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  Dan James - 7, Got himself booked for dissent in the opening minutes but won the free-kick that led to the goal. Hit a tame shot straight at Bushchan, then impressively led the break forward that saw Ramsey miss the target. Unlucky to see his effort blocked by Mykola Matviyenko. Action Images

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  SUBS: Brennan Johnson (James, 71’) – N/R, Was desperately unlucky to see his shot hit the post but brought extra life to Wales’ attack. Getty

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  Harry Wilson (Bale, 83’) – N/R, Won a free-kick in a dangerous position but his shot was deflected wide by the wall. Made an important challenge in the final seconds. PA

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  Rhys Norrington-Davies (Williams, 93’) – N/R, Came on in the final moments to help Wales see out the clean sheet and victory. AFP

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  UKRAINE RATINGS: Georgiy Bushchan - 6, Didn’t always look comfortable – especially after picking up an injury – but he had no chance of stopping the free-kick following the deflection off Yarmolenko. Made a good save to deny Bale. AFP

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  Oleksandr Karavaev - 6, When a glorious opportunity came the right-back’s way, he made a mess of his first attempt then saw the second loop up off Davies to be saved comfortably. Did some good defensive work against Williams. Getty

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  Illya Zabarnyi - 6, Got himself in trouble by overplaying on a couple of occasions, while his header in the opposition box posed a question before being collected by Hennessey. Cleared Ramsey’s driven ball across the box but played a shocking pass in the final stages as Ukraine chased an equaliser. PA

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  Mykola Matviyenko - 7, Looked convincing whether he was dealing with balls into the box, going out to defend in wide areas or carrying the ball. Blocked James’ shot in a dangerous position. AFP

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  Vitaliy Mykolenko - 7, Played some brilliant passes inside, though he got himself booked for catching James with an outstretched arm. Delivered a great ball to create a chance that Tsygankov should have taken. Getty

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  Taras Stepanenko - 7, Made a brilliant header to stop a dangerous cross into the box and provided good defensive support while also moving the ball well. AFP

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  Andriy Yarmolenko - 5, Was largely anonymous before delivering a cross that came close to creating a goalscoring opportunity. Was unfortunate to head Bale’s free-kick into his own net. He tried to make things happen in the second half but will have felt it wasn’t his day when Davies miraculously rushed across to deny him, then saw the same man block his shot before striking over in the final moments. AFP

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  Ruslan Malinovskyi - 5, Often looked off the pace when defending in the first half and conceded the free-kick that led to the opener. Had some nice moments on the ball, striking a threatening shot that worried Hennessey but went wide. AP

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  Oleksandr Zinchenko - 8, Showed his quickness of thought with a free-kick that beat Hennessey in the opening minutes but it had been taken too quickly for the referee’s liking. Was unlucky not to get a reward when he blocked Rodon’s pass, which is one example of him showing plenty of intelligence in his play. Had some good shots saved. PA

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  Viktor Tsygankov - 6, Conjured some efforts that made life awkward for Hennessey but wasted his best opportunity of the game by missing the target. Played a good pass to Karavaev for the right-back’s chance. Needed to get a better connection on Mykolenko’s cross. Reuters

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  Roman Yaremchuk - 6, Got behind the Welsh defence but will be disappointed with the eventual shot that was saved. Played some brilliant first-time passes to progress the play. Put his shot wide after Hennessey had saved from Tsygankov. PA

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  SUBS: Mykola Shaparenko (Malinovskyi, 70’) – 5, Hit a shocking shot that went high and wide but settled to get in some nice touches in his attempts to get Ukraine going forward. PA

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  Serhiy Sydorchuk (Stepanenko, 70’) - 5, Hit a strike from range that was comfortably saved, then another that went wildly high and wide. PA

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  Artem Dovbyk (Yaremchuk, 77’) – N/R, Was so unlucky to see his header palmed away and didn’t get another opportunity to score. AP

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  Mykhailo Mudryk (Tsygankov, 77’) – N/R, Made some good bursts forward including one that resulted in a threatening cross that was cut out by Allen. Booked for a foul on Ampadu. AP

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.