KIEV, Sept. 4 - Ukraine's national soccer team returned home to a warm welcome Sunday after winning a place in next year's World Cup finals. Some 200 fans waited at Kiev's Boryspil Airport and cheered for the tired but exhilarated players as they returned from their 1-1 tie with Georgia.

Georgia's late equalizer meant that Ukraine might have had to put off its World Cup ambitions for at least another game. But when Turkey failed to beat Denmark, Ukraine automatically qualified, winning this nation of 48 million people its first-ever berth in a major championship.