{"id":31964,"date":"2022-06-01T12:12:45","date_gmt":"2022-06-01T12:12:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/scotland-vs-ukraine-war-torn-country-pins-hopes-on-world-cup-quest-to-lift-spirits\/"},"modified":"2022-06-01T12:12:45","modified_gmt":"2022-06-01T12:12:45","slug":"scotland-vs-ukraine-war-torn-country-pins-hopes-on-world-cup-quest-to-lift-spirits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/scotland-vs-ukraine-war-torn-country-pins-hopes-on-world-cup-quest-to-lift-spirits\/","title":{"rendered":"Scotland vs Ukraine: War-torn country pins hopes on World Cup quest to lift spirits"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ukrainian Taras Berezovets, who worked as a political analyst before the Russian invasion started on February 24 but has since joined Ukraine’s special forces, would disagree.<\/p>\n

If Ukraine does get past Scotland at Hampden Park and then beats Wales in Cardiff on Sunday, the country will have remarkably secured qualification for the World Cup in Qatar later this year.<\/p>\n

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According to Berezovets, work is underway to find a broadcast of the match. But even if that’s impossible for those on the front line, he says those fighting will still gather together and listen on the radio if they can.<\/p>\n

“When the football team is playing, the whole country is watching. Football is the number one sport in Ukraine, it’s extremely popular,” Berezovets told CNN Sport over the phone from the country’s embattled south. <\/div>\n

“Especially during the wartime, I think all the country will be supporting our national team. People are looking forward to this match against Scotland. The importance of this match is very high and especially for the armed forces.<\/p>\n

“This would be a crucial moment and especially for the army. It would be very important for our spirit during these hard times.”<\/p>\n

Coping with the pressure<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

Such expectation and support might seem a heavy burden on the Ukrainian players, but the team seems to be using it as extra motivation. <\/p>\n

A day before kickoff in Scotland, the players and staff were milling around their hotel in Glasgow; sliders on, coffee in hand.<\/p>\n

It’s a stark contrast from the realities back in Ukraine and it’s an uncomfortable feeling for some of the squad. <\/p>\n

As if to underline the different realities, the match in Scotland kicks off when curfew begins in some regions of Ukraine. <\/p>\n

But while things look calm on the surface, it’s hard to imagine the thoughts that must be running through the players’ heads – all of whom have watched the horrific scenes that have unfolded in their homeland. <\/p>\n

Many still have family in Ukraine but have been urged to compete by the Ukrainian government in order to represent the country on the global stage, a powerful symbol for a country under attack. <\/p>\n

“It’s a plus and minus. It doubles your motivation but makes you think you have no right to make a mistake,” Oleksandr Glyvynskyy, the Ukrainian team’s media representative, told CNN Sport from the team’s hotel in Glasgow.<\/p>\n

“It’s more important to be winning in your country, to achieve the biggest victory of independence, but football is important of course.<\/p>\n

“Here, we have our front line. Football’s front line. The World Cup is a big target.” <\/p>\n

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