Moldova lost their group match against Ukraine 2-1 to remain just one place above the bottom of group. Moldova faced a tough competition to even think about qualifying for the World Cup through the play-offs.
This is due to the fact that Moldova were in the same group as the likes of England and Montenegro. The winner from a group automatically qualifies for the World Cup, while the second placed team has to go through a play-off game against a team from Europe. After having played six matches in the group so far, Moldova have taken just one victory.
It came against the minnows San Marino back in October. However, they came extremely close to snatching a point against Ukraine. After fighting valiantly in the first half by resisting Ukraine to a few chances, Moldova conceded in the 61st minute to a goal from Yarmolenko. Ukraine then managed to double the advantage 10 min later following a goal from Khacheridi. Just when it seemed that Ukraine were going to finish the match comfortably, Moldova managed to put a surprise in the match by scoring in the 80th minute.
Suvorov's goal in the 80th minute gave the away team some hope, while the red card to Stepanenko in injury time gave them hope that they can take advantage of the man advantage. However, Moldova were unable to do so and they lost the match. As a result of this defeat, they remain the points behind the second placed team in the group – England. Moldova will be playing in World Cup qualifying matches against Poland, England, and San Marino in the next three encounters.
There will be hoping to at least take a victory for these three matches in order to boost their chances of qualifying for the next edition of the European championships.