{"id":32646,"date":"2022-06-01T21:25:02","date_gmt":"2022-06-01T21:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/ukraine-stuns-scotland-in-world-cup-qualifier-to-give-war-torn-country-a-morale-boost\/"},"modified":"2022-06-01T21:25:02","modified_gmt":"2022-06-01T21:25:02","slug":"ukraine-stuns-scotland-in-world-cup-qualifier-to-give-war-torn-country-a-morale-boost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/ukraine-stuns-scotland-in-world-cup-qualifier-to-give-war-torn-country-a-morale-boost\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine stuns Scotland in World Cup qualifier to give war-torn country a morale boost"},"content":{"rendered":"
The emotional victory, that brought many watching Ukrainian fans – sporting yellow and blue colors – to tears, puts Ukraine just one win away from qualifying for the Qatar World Cup later this year.<\/div>\n

Wednesday’s playoff had originally been scheduled to take place in March, but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced the match’s postponement. Ukraine now needs to beat Wales in Cardiff on Sunday in its playoff final to reach the World Cup.<\/p>\n

Before the game, the visitors had spoken about giving those back in their homeland a morale boost during the war and they did just that courtesy of goals from Andriy Yarmolenko and Roman Yaremchuk.<\/div>\n

Ukraine was made to suffer more in the second half after Callum McGregor scored with just 10 minutes to play but the visitors added a third goal in stoppage time when Artem Dovbyk ran clear to secure a magical victory.<\/p>\n

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Given that staying in Ukraine had been too dangerous, the squad have been based at a training camp in Slovenia since May 1 preparing for Wednesday’s game. Prior to playing Scotland, Ukraine’s last competitive game had been in November.<\/p>\n

Special backdrop <\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

The stirring sound of bagpipes had echoed through the streets of Glasgow hours before kick-off, a familiar sign of support for the Scotland national team.<\/p>\n

Historically, the instrument is one of war but the country has also adopted it as a symbol of defiance and those rousing skirls took on a new meaning Wednesday – seemingly playing as much for Ukraine as they were for Scotland.<\/p>\n

Many of those fans dressed head-to-toe in Scottish attire – tartan kilt and feather in hat – had made sure to show sartorial support for the opposition, be it wearing a ribbon in Ukrainian colors or blue and yellow socks.<\/p>\n

As hundreds of Ukrainian fans picked up their tickets from outside the stadium, supporters shared cultures, taking turns to sing songs and play music from their country.<\/p>\n

Normally an item of disdain for many football fans, half-and-half scarves were worn proudly and the away team was clapped out by both sets of supporters as it emerged for the warmup.<\/p>\n

Fan groups also worked closely with both football associations in handing out leaflets with the words for the Ukraine national anthem – encouraging Scottish supporters to sing along.<\/p>\n

And, although far from perfect, the sound of both national anthems brought the atmosphere inside a sunny Hampden Park to a spine-tingling crescendo.<\/p>\n

Ukraine’s team had lined up for the anthems with their country’s flag wrapped around each of the players’ shoulders. <\/p>\n

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