Ukraine coach Oleg Blokhin waxed lyrical after his side thumped Saudi Arabia 4-0 in World Cup Group H on Monday.

"It's a little bit like Cinderella, the pumpkin turned into a beautiful coach and the other animals turned into wonderful horses," Blokhin told reporters.

"That's what happened to us today. We knew it was a decisive match for us and we turned things around and did a great job."

Striker Andriy Voronin said the victory made amends for the heavy defeat in their opening game.

"After the 4-0 defeat against Spain, when the way we played was embarrassing, we wanted to show we can play," said Voronin.

"We had a bit of luck as well.

"Our goal is to survive the group phase. Hopefully we'll go further and then we'll see who we're up against."