The Scottish FA exhibited a classy gesture on Wednesday evening as they put Ukraine flags on every seat at Hampden Park ahead of the World Cup play-off semi-final. Scotland go head-to-head with Ukraine in front of their home fans in Glasgow, just months after the eastern European country was invaded by Russia.
Peace in Europe was shattered at the end of February as Russia’s president Vladimir Putin took the deadly decision to attack Ukraine by air, land and sea. Thousands of Ukrainians have since been killed, with 14 million others forced to flee their home, according to reports. And the invasion has caused Europe’s fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II.
The Ukraine football team left the country in the wake of the attack and have been training in Slovenia recently. The team have played charity matches this year but haven’t played a competitive fixture since last November. And they face a Scotland team who are hungry to qualify for their first World Cup since 1998.
Scotland lost just one game during qualifying but were unable to finish top of their group as Denmark took the honours to cement their place at the World Cup. Ukraine, meanwhile, went unbeaten throughout the entirety of their qualifying campaign but drew six of their eight matches as they finished behind group winners France.
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That set-up a play-off showdown in Glasgow, with the contest initially scheduled to take place in March. But the game was pushed back in light of the egregious scenes which have unfolded in Ukraine.
“We always said we would be guided by the Ukrainians as to how they felt,” Scotland boss Steve Clarke said ahead of the match. “They made a decision to get their football players out of the country and into a training camp to prepare for the game because they want to play – they want to try and give their nation a boost by qualifying for Qatar.
“The game goes ahead but still with the horrific outside influence. For us we focus on the game on football. Nothing but good thoughts and good wishes for them, except during the game.”
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The winner of Wednesday’s match will travel to Cardiff to face Wales in the play-off final at the Principality Stadium on Sunday. And the team who come out on top of that encounter will ultimately secure a World Cup place and will be drawn in Group B, alongside England, Iran and USA.
“They want to go to Qatar to represent their country but I’m desperate to go to Qatar with Scotland,” Clarke added. “My staff are desperate to go and, most importantly, our players are desperate to take their country to a World Cup final – so that’s what we focus on.”
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