Ukraine plays much more than a play-off semi-final for the World Cup on Wednesday in Scotland (8:45 p.m.): it defends on a lawn the pride of a country attacked by Russia.
Oleksandr Petrakov tried to enlist to defend his country, but his request was refused, the authorities told him that he would be more useful in his role as coach by qualifying Ukraine for the World Cup.
“It’s crucial to stay focused” on football and try to forget about the war for 90 or 120 minutes, he told the Slovenian daily Delo, the “Zbirna” having prepared for Brdo pri kranju , some 20 km north of the capital Ljubljana.
“During training, the use of mobile phones is strictly prohibited,” added the coach who succeeded Andryi Shevchenko last summer.
The players, he acknowledged, “could be swept away very quickly”, as “their thoughts are always drawn elsewhere and they have to be calmed down again and again, their families are in Ukraine, their friends on the battlefield”.
“Before this match against Scotland, we must reject all parasitic thoughts,” added the experienced Ukrainian goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov (37) on the website of his federation.
“A bit of fresh air”
But war will inevitably hover over the meeting. “It’s the most important match in our history,” says Iryna Koziupa, journalist for the sports site tribuna.comwhich covers the national team.
“It’s not even about football anymore but about hope for all the people in Ukraine. It will be a sign that the war doesn’t break us,” she adds, explaining that she will be covering the match “since at home, in front of my laptop”.
“Only a small group of journalists followed the team in Slovenia, then in Scotland”, explains the usual interpreter of the selection, Andriy Bidnyk, but who “does not work for the journalists, this time”. He stayed at home, in Dnipro, a city “still safe at the moment, fortunately”, he specifies.
“This game against Scotland offers some fresh air, at least for a while,” noted Andriy Bidnyk. “It’s a chance to win another battle, peaceful, that one”.
Glasgow succeeds at Ukraine
If Ukraine win, they will have a final to play in Wales on Sunday (8:45 p.m.) to try to join Group B of the World Cup, with England, the United States and Iran .
In sporting terms, the Yellows and Blues have excellent memories of Glasgow, where Artem Dovbyk scored the winning goal in the last second of extra time against Sweden (2-1 ap), in the round of 16 of the last Euro .
In this very particular context, Scotland does not have a good role, for all that a victory for Ukraine would represent, symbolically.
“We gave them all the time they needed” (the match had been postponed, editor’s note), Scottish captain Andy Robertson told the BBC. “We helped them as much as we could, but on Wednesday night we have to be ready to fight for our dreams.”
A final qualification for Ukraine would be a great story, but “the symbol is the solidarity we have shown”, explained UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin. “But on the pitch, every team has to play. I’m sure Scotland will play business as usual, which is the right thing to do.”
–
