Oleg Blokhin found the perfect remedy for his team's poor performance against Spain in their World Cup opener, and it paid off handsomely as Ukraine comfortably defeated Saudi Arabia 4-0 to rekindle their hopes of a place in the second round.

The former Dynamo Kyiv star complained that the local wildlife near the team's training camp had been disturbing his players in the aftermath of the 4-0 loss to the Spaniards, but there were no such problems as Andriy Shevchenko and company hammered a Saudi team that struggled in the Hamburg rain.

"We took the frogs away," said Blokhin.

"The frogs that were preventing us from sleeping before the last match."

The improved rest proved beneficial for the Ukrainians, who took the lead after four minutes when Andriy Rusol steered home Maksym Kalinichenko's corner with his knee.

Blokhin's team rarely looked troubled by a Saudi side that looked fragile in the centre of defence and the Ukrainians could have been further ahead before Serhiy Rebrov claimed the second nine minutes before the break.

The Saudis had little chance to impose themselves on the game after the restart as Shevchenko put his name on the scoresheet almost immediately, the Chelsea striker rising above Hamad Al Montashari to head in another Kalinichenko free-kick.

With just four minutes left on the clock Kalinichenko finally picked up the goal he deserved as Shevchenko turned provider, storming down the left side before cutting the ball back for the Spartak Moscow man to fire into the roof of the net.

"We knew it was a decisive match for us," said Blokhin.

"We have turned things around and we won. The future is the same as it was before and now we have to win against Tunisia.

"I was accused of putting the wrong team on the pitch because we lost to Spain but today we won 4-0 so I guess it was the right team.

"Now we are going to look at the information we have on Tunisia before we decide who we are going to put on the field. It's something that depends on how the team listens to the coach. Against Spain the team was not disciplined but now I'd like to congratulate the players for bouncing back."

Saudi Arabia coach Marcos Paqueta was left to rue the way in which his team struggled in the wet conditions.

"We knew it was going to rain, or that there was a 50-50 chance it would rain," said the Brazilian.

"It was unfortunate.

"We don't have a lot of rain in Saudi Arabia and so it's not easy to play on the wet ground. It created more difficulties. It was like Ukraine found in the first game when they had to play in the heat.

"But it's not an excuse because the most important thing was conceding the first goal at the beginning of the game and the third goal at the beginning of the second half."