Before one of Dynamo Kyiv’s spring charities, a journalist asked Oleksandr Karavayev how he felt after reading about the war-torn situation in Ukraine.
“A low bow to our soldiers defending Ukrainian land,” began the defender of Dynamo and the Ukrainian national team. He tried to continue, but he was overwhelmed with tears and could not finish the sentence.
It was a moment that highlights the excitement that all Ukrainian players will feel as fierce fights continue across the country. Karavayev’s hometown, Kherson, has been occupied since the beginning of the invasion, and every day residents hear the sound of explosions.
Image: The aftermath of a Russian airstrike that hit a Ukrainian hospital
It was a city where Karavayev returned home every year, not only to visit his parents, but also to host a children’s soccer tournament. Now the 29-year-old cannot even send medicine to his family because all the valuable packages are confiscated by the Russian army.
Football, however, is playing its part in helping raise funds for war-torn Ukrainians. Earlier this year, Dynamo Kyiv played seven charity matches in seven European countries: Poland, Turkey, Romania, Estonia, Switzerland, Croatia and Germany, where a match in Dortmund raised some 400,000 euros.
Image: Ukraine beat German club Borussia Monchengladbach 2-1 in a charity fundraiser
Despite martial law and a ban on 18- to 60-year-old men leaving the country, Ukrainian authorities have made an exception for footballers. His goal is not only to raise funds, but the team also wants to reach the World Cup and create a moment of happiness for a country that has been destroyed.
To do that, players need practice, something that has been scarce. Despite this, defensive midfielder Taras Stepanenko – who was seen bombing and destroying his hometown of Velyka Novoselytsia in the Donetsk region – hopes to pay these soldiers after revealing the key message of those in the front line: “Our soldiers they write to us regularly and ask us to do just one thing: to win a World Cup ticket. “
Only a handful of players have been in regular competitive action; Oleksandr Zinchenko of Manchester City, Vitaly Mykolenko of Everton, Eduard Sobol who has just won the Belgian league at Club Brugge, Benfica striker Roman Yaremchuk and Ruslan Malinovskyi of Atalanta.
Image: Vitaly Mykolenko has been training with the Ukrainian national team after the Premier League season
Andriy Yarmolenko is another player who should be in the starting line-up regardless of the number of minutes he has played for West Ham. He is lively, emotional, has a great left foot and has scored 44 goals, just four from Andriy Shevchenko’s all-time record. Hopefully, these play-offs will be the time when you can set a new record and bring joy to your native Chernivtsi and to all of Ukraine.
Speaking of Shevchenko, it was on June 30, 2021 that he raised both arms at Hampden Park while his team beat Sweden in overtime to reach the quarterfinals of the European Championship. Almost a year has passed and our new coach Oleksandr Petrakov, who replaced Shevchenko, has his own vision of the squad and tactics.
I have no doubt that the Ukrainian team will be cautious and disciplined on Wednesday to counter Scotland’s tactics. However, after struggling to organize a friendly over the past week, it is a mystery to everyone about how the match will go. What we do know, however, is that Ukraine will not be disadvantaged in spirit.
If you want to imagine what this match means for Ukraine, turn your mind to the beginning of the invasion. Our head coach Petrakov wanted to join the territorial defense unit, grab a machine gun and defend the country. The 64-year-old man came to the military registration and enlistment office and was told, “We’ll face off. And you better take the team to the World Cup.”
Football is always on the minds of Ukrainians and we look forward to the sounds of the celebrations echoing across the country on Wednesday.