Ukraine vs Scotland is about a lot more than just football
As Russian troops besiege the Eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk, 3,000 miles away in Glasgow, the 26-man squad of Ukraine’s national football team is gearing up for its clash against Scotland in the World Cup play-off semi-final.
A Ukrainian victory in the match would see them face Wales in the play-off final in Cardiff on Sunday, with the winner qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar in December, joining England, Iran and the US in Group B.
Having been postponed from March due to the Russian invasion, Ukrainian hopes of World Cup qualification, as well as those of Scotland, rest on this single tie.
Yet inevitably, Wednesday’s match is about a lot more than just football. Without a doubt, the weight of the world’s support will fall behind the visiting Ukrainians. Scottish footballing hero Graeme Sounness has even said that he hopes Ukraine beat Scotland, adding: “I don’t just want Ukraine to qualify, I want them to go there [Qatar] and win it.”
Scottish fans have also shown they are supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russia, despite their footballing rivalry. In a gesture commended by Ukrainian defender Oleksandr Zinchenko as “an amazing, amazing initiative,” Scottish fans plan to join in with the Ukrainian national anthem, with song sheets to be distributed at Hampden Park tonight.
Zinchenko also said in a tearful pre-match interview: “My mission is to try to help Ukraine as much as I can, to make Ukrainian people proud and that our nation is living with freedom and that we will never give up.”
Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine’s record goal scorer, and manager between 2016 and 2021, said the match against Scotland is “much more than football for us right now.”
“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.”
Despite some calls for Scotland to forfeit the match, the Scottish camp is intent on securing themselves a place in the World Cup. Steve Clarke, Scotland’s manager, said: “We have to focus on the football match, and I don’t think the Ukrainian team would want it any other way.”
“It’s very difficult to do but you have to separate the situation that the Ukrainians find themselves in and the context of a football match. It’s a football match and that’s what we focus on.”