Ukraine qualified for the World Cup finals for the first time yesterday, while the US booked its place for the fifth time in a row, Herald Sun reported.
Ukraine appeared to have been denied a place after conceding a goal a minute from time to draw 1-1 behind closed doors in Tbilisi, Georgia.
An 89th-minute goal from Georgia's Georgi Gakhokidze cancelled out Ruslan Rotan's 44th-minute strike for Ukraine, and it seemed the Ukrainians would have to wait for Thursday morning's match with Turkey to go through.
Their dream came back to life later when Denmark scored early in Turkey, flickered out again as the Turks fought back to lead 2-1, only to be realized as the Danes scored an injury-time equalizer.
That result meant neither Turkey nor Denmark can match Ukraine's total of 24 points. Although Greece, which did not play, can still do so, it has an inferior head-to-head record.
