Oleksandr Petrakov and his players pulled off a deserved 3-1 win over Scotland in Glasgow on Wednesday night to go to within one game of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar later this year.
Ukraine has been devastated since Russia invaded the country in February, with thousands of civilians killed and millions more forced to flee their homes due to air strikes and the capturing of major cities.
On Wednesday, grief-stricken civilians still in Ukraine were able to watch Petrakov’s side ease aside Scotland in their World Cup play-off semi-final, providing ‘happiness’ that many had not been accustomed to in recent months.
‘There are times when you don’t need many words! Pride is enough! Simply thanks to you guys!’ Zelensky said in an Instagram post.
‘Two hours of happiness that we’ve grown unaccustomed to. They went out. They fought. They persevered. They won. Because they are Ukrainians!
‘We are all fighting, everyone on their own front, for this. For our blue and yellow flag, for our coat of arms on our hearts, for ‘Ukraine is not dead yet…’, which cannot be silenced,’ he said.
‘We fight, we fight, we endure, we win.’
Ukraine’s players had not played together since November and spent the build up to the Scotland game in Slovakia at a month-long training camp.
Friendlies against Borussia Mönchengladbach, Empoli and Rijeka provided some minutes for players to regain match fitness, complimenting Premier League stars such as Oleksandr Zinchenko, of Man City, and Andriy Yarmolenko, who has just been released by West Ham.
There were tears from Zinchenko in the build-up to the game and Petrakov was emotional when asked after the 3-1 win what it meant for, not just the squad but also the entire nation of Ukraine.
‘I have no emotions. All my emotions are left on the football pitch. This victory was not for me, not for the players, it was for our country,’ Petrakov said after the game.
‘We played for those who fight in trenches, those who fight for their last drop of blood.
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