Ukrainians were thrilled to be in the last eight in their first World Cup

Here, Andriy Hunder describes the sense of pride among Ukraine fans in Kiev, despite their team's quarter-final defeat against Italy.

Andriy says Ukrainians are proud of what their team has achieved

As the final whistle blew and Ukraine's first World Cup came to an end, fans on Independence Square were still clapping and shouting our country's name.

Ukrainian fans are proud that our team reached the quarter-finals and competed amongst the world's top eight footballing nations.

Tonight, Ukraine played great entertaining football.

But there is a saying in Ukrainian - if you don't score, your opponent will.

The mood is still very high. The fans are shouting "molodtsi" which translates as "well done boys"!

Ukraine had more chances and played a better game, but sadly we could not score.

This World Cup has laid a great foundation for the future of Ukrainian football.

Young boys across the nation watched their heroes reach the last eight and this will inspire the team of the future.

The mood is still very high. The fans are shouting "molodtsi" which translates as "well done boys"!

The singing is not going to stop.

Ukrainians are proud of our first appearance at the World Cup finals! Molodtsi!

Andriy says Ukrainians still believe they can win

I'm on Independence Square, or Maidan as its known here, with an old friend who flew in from Prague yesterday for the match.

The atmosphere here is phenomenal - the noise is deafening with the singing and chanting of "Uuukraaiiiinaaa"!

Even though we are 1-0 down, the adrenalin is still high, especially as Ukraine have played better in the past 20 minutes.

Thousands of people with blue and yellow flags are singing the national anthem and holding their hands on their hearts.

The atmosphere is as if Ukraine were winning.

The Italians aren't playing that well and were lucky with the goal.

The feeling here is that Ukraine can still do it.

It's a beautiful sunny evening in Kiev and the normally busy streets have become deserted as people rush home, to the bars or to Independence Square ahead of the game.

The whole nation is preparing to watch this huge match.

Ukraine's president Victor Yushchenko will be in the stadium in Hamburg supporting the national team, together with thousands of fans that have managed to get hold of tickets.

Many Ukrainians have been supporters of Italian football ever since Shevchenko moved to Milan.

Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians currently live in Italy but will be supporting Ukraine tonight.

We are all really excited and confident.

On the streets of Kiev people are smiling and feeling very positive ahead of the biggest match in our nation's history.

There is an exceptionally friendly atmosphere and most conversations among people of all ages are about the big game.

In the leafy park opposite the university small children were playing football next to the tall bronze statue of Taras Shevchenko, Ukraine's greatest poet, with whom today's national hero Andriy Shevchenko shares a surname.

The entire population of 48 million is hoping 'Sheva' can produce goals like he has for so many years to bring joy to supporters at his former clubs Dynamo Kiev and AC Milan.

Qualifying for the semi-finals would be out of this world

Shevchenko knows the Italian defence inside-out so we hope to see him break through on counter-attacks.

Ukrainians are thrilled that their squad is among the eight top teams in the world.

The match against Italy will be tough, but qualifying for the semi-finals would be out of this world.

Billions of eyes around the globe will be on Ukraine and all the nation's children, adults and senior citizens are hopeful that the Ukrainian dream will become a reality.