Wales can finally eclipse qualifying for the 1958 World Cup in a playoff against a Ukraine side every neutral will back on SundayAs I watched the Ukraine fans cavorting in the away end after Artem Dovbyk sealed a World Cup playoff final against Wales, Arrigo Sacchi’s observation that “football is the most important of the least important things in life” felt especially pertinent. The players raised their fists in relief at a job half done, and the Ukrainian fans embraced, their minds inevitably turning to Cardiff. On Sunday they go again and it is now Rob Page’s job to make Wales the most unpopular team on Earth.Oleksandr Zinchenko wept during the pre-match press conference on Wednesday, as he described what...
Achievements had raised expectations, Kieran Tierney was missed – and the manager made some errors against UkraineSteve Clarke seemed slightly irked at entering Hampden Park’s auditorium to strains of laughter. Scotland’s World Cup push had, after all, just been comprehensively halted by the outstanding players of Ukraine. What had been pointed out among journalists was that the sides must meet again on Nations League business. “I forgot about that,” said one. “That’s another couple of humpings to look forward to.”Dark humour used to be essential when following Scotland. Continue reading...
For 94 minutes these bruised and grieving men managed to shut out the world and throw themselves into their sportTrauma can produce a devastating clarity. It paints the world in new and shocking colours, ruthlessly strips away what matters from what doesn’t, dulls the pain with pure adrenaline and primal instinct. Car crash victims talk of calmly strolling away from a burning wreckage. Survivors of dreadful accidents often chat lucidly away to the paramedics while lying in their own blood. When pushed to extremes, humans have a limitless capacity to endure, to carry on, to do the thing that is needed.A lot of the speculation ahead of this game centred on how Ukraine’s footballers would cope with their first international...
Wednesday’s World Cup playoff against Scotland might offer at least some comfort to those struggling back homeA cold night towards the end of 1993. A group of eight men huddled behind a pile of snow at the airport, waiting, anxious. The sprint was only 200 yards. They were professional athletes, physically fit. It should have been easy. On the other side of the airfield, one run through the darkness away, lay freedom and their mission. But they knew they were within range of Serbian snipers.This was Fuad Muzurovic’s grand idea. He was the coach of FK Sarajevo and as the siege of his city dragged on he realised his players had a value beyond taking up arms and fighting on...
Our short-term situation is bleak but we will rebuild the city – I cannot imagine a life in Mariupol without footballBefore 24 February, we had everything to look forward to at FC Mariupol. We were struggling in the Ukrainian Premier League but there was a bigger picture: our infrastructure was one of the country’s most developed, and we had ambitions to build a team that would reach the Europa League. In the last four years, we played in the qualifiers twice: we felt we were on the brink of something special.We had one of the best playing surfaces around, with a new hybrid pitch; our stadium was well kept, with plans for a major redevelopment in 2025, and we had...