A day before his team took on Saudi Arabia, Ukraine coach Oleg Blokhim declared that he would not hesitate to rest players who were not performing, even if one of them was his star player Andriy Shevchenko.
Obviously, he was upset after the 4-0 drubbing from Spain in the team's opening match of the World Cup.
But on Monday, he relented and started with Shevchenko. The mercurial striker responded with a superb performance, scoring his first World Cup goal in the process, as Ukraine went on to record a comprehensive 4-0 victory and revive hopes of snatching a place in the second round.
Shevchenko, who made his national team debut at the age 18 in a friendly against Croatia in March 1995, may have scored only once, but his tireless off the ball running was enough to rattle the Saudi defence, which looked ragged once it conceded the first goal.
Indeed, much of Ukraine's success or failure depends on the 29-year-old, who is among the world's most feared strikers since leaving his childhood club team, Dynamo Kiev, in 1999 to play for A.C. Milan, where he became an instant hit with Milan fans, notching 24 goals and becoming the first foreigner to top the Serie A scoring charts in his debut season.
At the end of this season, before signing for English champions Chelsea at the beginning of June for a record fee, he was the club's second all-time leading scorer behind Gunnar Nordahl of Sweden.
Shevchenko, who helped Milan win the Champions League in 2003 and Italian title in 2004, is also the leading active scorer in European club competition with 55 goals and is fast closing on Gerd Muller's all-time record of 62.
Ukraine haven't yet sealed a berth in the second round of the World Cup. Tunisia stands in their way. As in both their matches, the East Europeans will be counting on Shevchenko to take into them to last 16.
Surely, the 2004 Footballer of the Year can conjure up the magic he displayed for seven seasons in the red and black shirt at AC Milan and see Ukraine through to the last 16 in their maiden appearence at the World Cup.
