Thursday 2 June 2022 02:13 AM Scottish football fans sing Ukrainian national anthem in solidarity with their ... trends now

Ukraine's emotion-filled quest to qualify for the 2022 World Cup drew one step closer with a 3-1 win over Scotland on Wednesday in a pulsating playoff semi-final, which saw Scottish fans singing the national anthem of their opposition.

The two sides met at Glasgow's Hampden Park, with the match being Ukraine's first competitive game since their territory was invaded by Russia's armies on Feb. 24. 

The play-off match was rescheduled from its initial March date due to the impact of the war, with the build up being dominated by the emotional toll the brutal conflict has taken on the team's players, coaching staff and fans.

Scottish fans were asked to sing along with Ukraine's travelling supporters before the match in a show of solidarity, with language education app Duolingo printing out flyers with a phonetic version of the lyrics to help the non-Ukrainian speakers.

The Ukrainian players all walked onto the field each with a blue and yellow national flag draped on their shoulders, and were met with huge applause.

When the time came, Ukraine's national anthem 'Shche ne vmerla Ukrainas' - which translates roughly to 'Ukraine has not yet died' - was belted out by Ukrainians and the Tartan Army alike, while Scottish pipers played along.

Many fans stayed after the game to salute their victorious opponents off the field, and Ukrainian flags were waved by some home fans. Several were pictured with the yellow and blue flag painted on their faces, alongside St Andrew's Cross. 

Ukraine's squad was made up of players who mostly have not played a competitive game for six months because of the war at home, and most of Ukraine's squad play for home-based clubs whose league was shut down after Russia's invasion.

After the match in March was postponed, FIFA and Scotland agreed to give the Ukrainian team a fair chance to prepare for games that have become a focus of national identity and pride.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave his blessing for Ukraine's players and coach Oleksandr Petrakov to leave their homeland to prepare for and play the game.

A month-long training camp in the safety of Slovenia has featured warm-up games arranged against clubs in Germany, Italy and Croatia, giving players from Ukrainian clubs like Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kyiv a chance to get match sharp.

But the lack of competitive action did not seem to hinder Ukraine. Veteran captain Andriy Yarmolenko lifted his nation by scoring a deft lobbed goal in the 33rd minute and then helped set up Roman Yaremchuk's header in the 49th to make it 2-0.

Ukraine dominated for much of a deserved win but had to resist a Scotland revival as risk-filled attacks brought a goal in the 79th by Callum McGregor, before Ukraine substitute Artem Dovbyk broke clear to score with the last kick of the game.

Ultimately, Scotland lacked the class needed and its wait for World Cup soccer now extends beyond the 24 years since it went to the 1998 tournament. 

As for Ukraine, the team needs just one more famous win to reach Qatar 2022 - which would be its first World Cup finals tournament in 24 years.

Dovbyk led teammates toward the corner of the stadium to share the celebration with 3,000 Ukraine fans in the 51,000 crowd, applauding each other with hands raised high above their heads.

Petrakov said the win was for 'the armed forces in the trenches and in the hospitals, who give their last drop of blood, those in Ukraine who suffer every day.'

'Also I give my gratitude to the people of Scotland - an amazing, hospitable place,' Petrakov added.

Some of the Ukrainian fans had travelled far and had made plans to stay in Britain for the decisive playoff Sunday.

George Butromeyev told The Associated Press before the game he came from Toronto with friends to support the players who 'need to show the people of Ukraine that we are warriors.'

'It's not only about football,' said Yaroslav Grygorenko, who traveled from Amsterdam. 'It's important to be on the top of the discussions here in Europe, to not let (people) forget what is happening in Ukraine.'

Scotland-born Alex Demianczuk wore a kilt in Ukrainian yellow and blue colours and wanted his parents' nation to advance. Ukraine playing at the World Cup, he said, would be 'something that's really going to get on (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's nerves.'

In Kyiv, fans determined to get together to see the match had the war-time night-time curfew to contend with, which kicked in at 11 p.m. local time, before the start of the second half.

The Beer & Meet bar in downtown Kyiv got around the restriction on movement by offering fans the possibility to stay there until 5 a.m., when the curfew ends.

Police swung by the bar in a patrol car a few minutes before kickoff, asking fans who had gathered outside to go down into the drinking hole's basement rooms, because of an air-raid warning.

Oleksii Safin, 40, who works as a voice actor, stood with his right hand over his heart as he belted out the national anthem. He and other supporters erupted in celebration when Ukraine scored first. But the war raging in the east of the country wasn't forgotten.

'It looks like we are having lots of fun but, actually, we are not,' Safin said. 'We are trying to look normal, as far as we can, but we still remember what is going on out in the east.

'It's a good fight, just like the fight that we have right now with the Russians,' Safin said. 'We can show that we can do it.'