11 players, for whom kicking a ball was the furthest thing from their minds a few months ago. It seemed unimaginable.
Ukraine players walk out at Hampden draped in their country’s flagCredit: GettyOleksandr Zinchenko applauds the fansCredit: Getty
Yet there they stood, draped in their country’s flag and fighting back tears as their national anthem began to ring out around Hampden.
That was the moment it almost got too much for Ukraine’s players.
But they were able to summon the strength to sing along to their country’s anthem, Shche ne vmerla Ukrainy, ahead of the World Cup play-off semi-final against Steve Clarke’s Scotland.
They were roared on by passionate Ukraine fans in the crowd who proudly held up scarves and waved flags.
Many of those supporters struggled to hold back tears too, given the situation back home.
Images of the players from the war-torn country walking out from the tunnel with their nation’s flag across their shoulders and with many hundreds if not thousands more flags in the stands will invoke poignant feelings around the world, as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine ravages on.
Scotland fans also unveiled a large tifo in the form of a saltire as the players lined up for the anthems.
In the hours before the game, members of the Tartan Army, Glasgow’s Voice of the Town choir and Ukraine fans joined to sing Ukraine’s national anthem outside Hampden together in solidarity.
Scottish fans were handed sheets of paper with the lyrics to the anthem, plus their English translation and the phonetics of each word so that they could sing in unison with their Ukrainian counterparts on the steps outside the national stadium.
In the build-up to the game, Ukraine star Oleksandr Zinchenko broke down in tears in a pre-match press conference.
He wept as he reflected on the impact of the Russian invasion ahead of the big play-off.
The Man City ace said: “Every Ukrainian wants one thing – to stop the war.
“I spoke to kids who don’t understand what’s happening, but they have one dream: They want the war to end.
“We also have another dream: To make the World Cup.”
