June 1 – A packed stadium and the whole of Scotland will be supporting the home side. But pretty much the rest of the world will be rooting for the visitors, Ukraine.
The eagerly awaited World Cup playoff semi-final between the two countries finally takes place tonight more than two months after the original tie was postponed because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian legend Andriy Shevchenko says the game is “much more than football for us right now” as his country bids to reach a second World Cup since independence in 1991.
“The Scotland match is the hope of the country,” said Shevchenko who managed the national team at Euro 2020. “Going to the World Cup is very important for Ukraine right now.
“The motivation is incredible. In my opinion, we need to put the result away and just focus on the game. We need to play for the fans, for the whole of Ukraine, for those at home, for those defending the country and for those who left the country.”
The winners in Glasgow will face Wales in Cardiff on Sunday for a winner-takes-all showdown for the final European place Qatar.
Ukraine head coach Oleksandr Petrakov, who replaced Shevchenko in August 2021, says his players’ morale “is sky-high” even though as a national team they have only been playing friendlies in order to get fit, with the entire Ukrainian domestic league closed down.
“They are experienced football players and understand everything perfectly well,” Petrakov said. “Clearly it’s a very difficult task to prepare your team for the game when every single player is thinking about mothers, fathers, close relatives, family back home in Ukraine.”
Manchester City’s Ukrainian midfielder Oleksandr Zinchenko broke down in tears on the eve of the game saying all he wanted was peace in his country.
“Every Ukrainian wants one thing – to stop this war,” said Zinchenko. “I spoke to people from different countries, all over the world and I spoke to some Ukrainian kids who just don’t understand what’s happening back in Ukraine. They only want the war to stop. They have one dream to stop the war.
“When it comes to football, the team, we have our own dream. We want to go to the World Cup, want to give these incredible emotions to the Ukrainians because they deserve it so much at this very moment. I am sure that the whole of Ukraine will be watching us. We will feel the support. We can talk a lot, but we need to prove everything on the field. We will try to make our people happy and proud.”
Scotland manager Steve Clarke, whose country last made a World Cup finals 24 years ago, chose his words carefully ahead of the game.
“Nothing but good thoughts for them and good wishes for them – except during the game,” said Clarke. “Obviously they want to go to Qatar and represent their country. But I’m desperate to go to Qatar with Scotland.”
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