Following Ukraine's 2-1 win over Sweden on Monday, the co-hosts can become the first team to reach the Euro 2012 quarter-finals with a win over France in Donetsk tonight.
Laurent Blanc's France, who are unbeaten since September 2010, are also in need of the points, having failed to beat England in their Group D opener.
Ukraine have never beaten France in six attempts, drawing three.
Stick with Sports Mole for live, regular updates as Andriy Shevchenko aims to end that winless record over Les Bleus.
19.49That is it then. France take control of Group D with that win. Mixed news for England ahead of their match with Ukraine on Tuesday. The bad news is that Ukraine will be fired up and needing a win. The good news is that they looked like a very poor side.
Full timeFinal score: Ukraine 0-2 France.
90 minThe game has died right down. Three minutes of stoppage time have been signalled.
85 minGood effort from Nasri but smartly saved by Pyatov at his near post.
84 minMore cards. Tymoschuk dives in on Martin and is correctly shown the yellow. Nasri seems to fancy the resulting free kick, which is 20 yards from goal near the left touchline.
82 minAliev takes the free kick and misses by five yards.
81 minMilevskiy is brought down by Mexes 20 yards from goal. Yellow card for Mexes and maybe a last chance for Ukraine to get back into it.
80 minGiroud has a go from distance and it is awful. Row Y at the very least.
79 minDebuchy enters the referee's notebook after a needless bodycheck on Konoplyanka.
77 minUkraine with their fifth corner - the game's 10th, but it is poor and easily cleared.
76 minBenzema is taking an age to leave the field. The referee has indicated that he is taking a note of his time wasting. The England game might have to be put further back at this rate!
75 minBenzema is about to replaced by Olivier Giroud.
73 minMenez's work tonight is done. The 25-year-old has been the stand-out player tonight's game. He scored the opening goal, but was perhaps lucky to be on the pitch after a poor tackle on Selin in first-half stoppage time. He trots off and is replaced by Martin.
72 minRibery goes for power and misses by a mile.
71 minNasri dances around on the edge of the Ukraine D before being hacked down by Khacheridi. Dangerous free kick coming up.
70 minDevic runs 50 yards before dragging an awful shot hopefully wide. His skipper, who was in a good position, gives him the look of death.
68 minUkraine make their final change. Aliev comes on for Yarmolenko.
68 minThat was Cabaye's last action. The Newcastle United star is replaced by M'Vila.
65 minCROSSBAR! France keep the ball for a good 40 passes, much to the displeasure of the whistling home fans. However, they finally elect to shoot and Cabaye rattles the bar with real venom from 18 yards.
62 minFrance are in complete control, but they need to be wary of complacency as Nasri's attempt at a time-wasting short corner goes wrong.
60 minSubstitution for Ukraine. Milevskiy comes on for Nazarenko.
59 minWell, Ukraine also went behind in the 52nd minute against Sweden. They responding with two goals in the next 10 that day. France have made sure that won't repeat itself. It is game over.
56 minBenzema again the architect. This time he slips the ball through to Cabaye, who finishes well left-footed.
56 minGOAL FRANCE! 2-0
52 minIt is Menez! The most dangerous man on the field is found in the area by Benzema. He then cuts inside and finishes low past Pyatov into the near post for 8 yards.
52 minGOAL FRANCE! 1-0
51 minsFrance are under real pressure for the first time in the game. Tymoschuk fizzes his power drive wide from 18 yards.
49 minMenez forces another good save out of Pyatov one-one-one, but the Ukrainians launch an immediate counter-attack, which culminates in Shevchenko blasting a 20-yard effort inches wide with Lloris well beaten.
47 minThe corner is poor and Blanc rolls his eyes on the touchline.
46 minFrance begin the half brightly with Menez again involved. The trickster forces a corner.
18.59The players are out for the second-half surprisingly early. France remain unchanged, while Ukraine make one substitution. Voronin is replaced by Marko Devic
18.50France, who had promised an improvement after their performance against England, have so far failed to deliver. Blanc's men have shaded possession (54%) and had five attempts on target, compared to their opponent's one. However, Ukraine have been able to subdue Les Bleus, with the exception of Menez, and the co-hosts will be the happier side at the break.
Half time0-0 after 45 minutes of play.
45+1 minMenez is a lucky boy! Already on a yellow card, he crashes in late to Selin with a his foot raised. Only a free kick.
45 minOne additional minute will be played.
43 minBenzema plays a one-two with Nasri down the left. Benzema gets to the byeline, but his low cross is hooked to safety.
40 minFirst yellow card of the game goes to Menez for denying Shevchenko a quick break away.
39 minNasri hangs up a deep cross from the free kick and Mexes forces a great save out of Pyatov.
38 minRibery nutmegs Gusev and wins a free kick on the left 25 yards out. Clumsy challenge.
37 minFirst Ukraine corner. It comes to nothing.
34 minWhat a chance for Ukraine! Shevchenko, who is played onside my Mexes, collects a 50-yard diagonal pass. The striker takes the ball in the stride brilliantly, but his stinging volley is palmed away by Lloris.
32 minThe game is becoming more open and Konoplyanka uses his pace to break forward. However, his shot is wild from 25 yards.
30 minRibery latches on to a weak back pass and crosses for Benzema. The Real Madrid man can't connect, but the ball falls to Menez at the far past and the PSG winger is denied by on-rushing Pyatov. Best chance of the match.
18.25England's match with Sweden later tonight will kick off 15 minutes behind schedule as a result of the delay here in Donetsk. Click here for the full story.
26 minFrance hit their opponents with a rapid counter attack, which results in Menez firing over from 15 yards.
25 minYarmolenko has Ukraine's first shot of the match. The Dynamo Kyiv winger cuts in from the right a drags a low shot just wide of the near post.
23 minUkraine break out and Shevchenko is the threat before Debuchy clears the danger.The former Chelsea man is being forced to run the channels though, which is not his game.
20 minThere are still flickers of lightening around the stadium. However, they are nothing like what we were experiencing an hour ago.
17 minGoal disallowed Benzema and Ribery combine well before the latter slides in Menez, who cooly finishes low. Offside by a clear two yards.
16 minFrance are enjoying a lot of possession and all 11 Ukrainians have been camped inside their own half for the past two minutes.
14 minNazarenko is lucky to escape a booking as he executes a blatant and cynical block on the impressive Debuchy.
12 minUkraine have improved. Gusev gets forward on the overlap and his cross just evades the jump of Shevchenko in the middle.
9 minNasri's delivery is poor, but the ball falls to Debuchy 30 yards from goal and the Lille full-back forces Pyatov into more action. Comfortable save though.
8 minFirst Corner. France have settled well and Ribery wins the game's first corner kick following a threatening move.
7 minThe crowd wake up as Shevchenko gets on the ball and attacks Debuchy. However, the French right back wins the battle and France regain the ball.
5 minsFirst shot. Benzema dispossesses Yarmolenko down the France left and rifles in a dipping 25-yard effort that Pyatov gathers at the second attempt.
18.01We are back! The stadium is 75 percent full as the game is restarted by a drop ball.
17.59The referee is leading the starting XIs back onto the pitch. Most haven't been warming up again. Interesting.
17.55Some players are back on the pitch and warming up.
17.43The show will go on! It has been confirmed that the match will resume at 6pm UK time.
17.29UEFA have said that they are hopeful of resuming play tonight. However, a decision will not be made until 6pm UK time. Put the kettle on...
17.27The comedians are out in force on Twitter. Darren Beard says: "Where's Cliff Richard when you need him?" Meanwhile, Jamie Hardesty: quips: "UK-RAIN-E... Coincidence?! Elaborate tactics from the host nation disrupting France's gameplan..."
17.19Match stats so far then...
4 minutes and 27 seconds on the paused clock.
France have enjoyed 74% possession.
No shots.
Two fouls - both French-commited.
17.15The bewildered players are standing in the tunnel, wrapped in towels.
17.14UEFA have informed us that if the game were to be abandoned it would be replayed tomorrow.
17.13Donetsk, which was scorching hot 30 minutes ago, has a reputation for quick-changing weather. Therefore there is a strong possibility of the game restarting. However, it is worth noting that the strong rain is creating a lot of standing water in places of the Donbass Arena pitch.
17.09Stewards are escorting supporters inside to the safety of the concourses.
17.07The rain has also cranked up a notch and visibility has decreased massively.
17.06The referee has decided that, as three more huge cracks of thunder and lightening blast directly above the stadium, the conditions are currently unplayable.
4 minThe players are going off.
1 minThe rain is hammering down and the pitch is very fast.
0 minsFrance take the kick-off and we are underway.
16.58Ukraine's anthem Shche ne vmerla Ukraina, although less upbeat, is equally impressive as it is proudly belted out by the masses. Captain Shevchenko plays lead vocal among his teammates.
16.56France sing first with a rousing rendition of their anthem La Marseillaise. The song is briefly interrupted by a huge blast of thunder from the Donetsk sky.
16.54The players are entering the pitch.
16.53With that said, I'm predicting a French masterclass. My 50p says 2-0 France.
16.52Blanc found himself coming in for criticism following the draw with England. I have got a feeling that, if Ukraine can frustrate Les Bleus in the opening 20 minutes, we may see some nerves on display among the French players.
16.48Menez coming in for Malouda is a positive move by Blanc. The PSG winger has the pace and skill to destroy full-backs on his day, as he demonstrated with a string of superb Ligue 1 showings last season.
16.45All eyes will be on Shevchenko this evening. The 35-year-old national hero only played six games in the second half of last season. Therefore playing two top-level internationals in five days will be a big test.
16.42Ukraine: Pyatov; Khacheridi, Mykhalyk, Selin, Gusev; Konoplyanka, Nazarenko, Tymoshchuk; Shevchenko, Voronin, Yarmolenko.
France: Lloris; Clichy, Debuchy, Mexes, Rami; Cabaye, Diarra, Menez, Nasri; Ribery, Benzema.
16.40The teams are in! Ukraine remain unchanged while France make two changes from the side that drew with England. Gael Clichy and Jeremy Menez replace Patrice Evra and Florent Malouda.
Written by
Robert Summerscales
Robert Summerscales
