On 21 March, twelve European national groups competing in the qualification semi-finals took the first step towards booking their place at the 2024 European Championships. Divided into three groups of four, only three will secure the final qualification places for this summer’s football competition. The six groups that join on Thursday have one more game to secure a chance to compete in Germany this summer.
In general circumstances, players will feel the pressure to succeed, qualify for the tournament, and make their country proud. Failure to qualify would be disappointing and some players would be disappointed to miss out on European football’s top and prestigious competition.
But for Ukraine, the European Championship qualifiers have far more implications than just football. The members of the Ukrainian national team are not only betting on themselves, but also bringing with them the added burden of trying to breathe life into the morale and spirit of a country at war. Many have been affected by the ravages of war since 2014 and, more recently, by the full-scale invasion of 2022.
Ukraine traveled to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday for the playoff semifinal, while Israel hosted Iceland in the other organizing match. Ukraine beat Bosnia and Iceland beat Israel. Ukraine will host Iceland next Tuesday, with the winner qualifying for Germany.
The effect of the war on Ukrainian football
When Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022, millions of people across Ukraine fled Russian forces while thousands died under Moscow’s brutality. Many cities, towns and villages were destroyed. A quarter of Ukraine’s total population is displaced, and there is no end in sight to the war. knowledge.
Footballers, like all other Ukrainians, have been affected by the war in Russia. The 2021-2022 Ukrainian Premier League came to an abrupt end and all football was suspended from February to July 2022. Many players from Ukrainian clubs have worked with their coaches. to force them to leave the country. Several football stadiums have been destroyed or destroyed and some Ukrainian clubs have even gone bankrupt, putting dozens of athletes, club staff and professionals out of work.
Meanwhile, UEFA has made the decision that the national team deserves to play their matches abroad outside of Ukraine. Ukrainians would still be able to travel abroad for their matches, but matches organized through Ukrainians would be played in Poland or Germany. Ukraine has not played a real home game at the National Stadium since November 2021.
Finally, the national football league returned in August 2022, but things were difficult. Throughout the 2022-2023 season and the current 2023-2024 season, matches were interrupted and paused due to air raid sirens. Players and training staff were forced to flee to bomb shelters, seeking shelter as Russia bombed the country. To this day, fans and spectators are still unable to attend matches for fear of their protection, and the national team continues to play outdoors in Ukraine.
The implications of Euro qualification for Ukraine
Training to qualify for a primary festival is stressful under general circumstances, but interrupting sessions for protective reasons can multiply anxiety.
On top of those physical challenges, there is intellectual strain. Many of these Ukrainian athletes have family and friends in spaces under constant risk of attack and others know other people living under Russian profession in the southern and eastern regions of Ukraine.
Ukrainian Vice Captain Taras Stepanenko, for example, has several relatives living in the Donetsk region, in a domain controlled by Russian forces. Meanwhile, Ukrainian full-back Oleksandr Karavayev has relatives in Kherson, a major city in southern Ukraine. who had been under the Russian profession for several months. During the Russian profession, Karavayev spoke of the hardships endured by his circle of relatives and others in the region. Eventually, Ukrainian forces liberated the city, and Karavayev, along with many other Ukrainians, expressed their gratitude.
Some players, such as striker Roman Yaremchuk, have rushed to help their families flee the Russian invasion. At the start of the war, Ukrainian captain Andriy Yarmolenko helped Yarmechuk help his family escape.
Ukrainian footballers, as well as many other athletes, have discovered practical tactics for their country. Ukrainian clubs such as Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk have organised charity tours across Europe to raise millions of euros to rebuild Ukraine.
These are just a few examples of countless times when Ukrainians have been affected by the war. Despite those difficulties, Ukrainian footballers are running hard to bring optimism and hope to their fellow Ukrainians at this incredibly promising time in the country’s history. The national team’s recent successes in EURO 2024 qualifying have given the Ukrainians something to celebrate. If Ukraine qualifies for EURO 2024 immediately after the playoffs, it would be celebrated across the country as a great achievement, given the existing circumstances.
No one knows when the Russian invasion will end. Russia’s brutality continues to put many lives at risk. But football, like many other cultural facets of life, has helped distract the minds of Ukrainians from the barbarism they face, and the prospect of competing in Germany is little help in the darkness they face.
Your national team will strive to prove it and make this a truth and strive to make their compatriots proud.
The perspectives expressed in this op-ed are those of the Kyiv Post and not necessarily those of the Kyiv Post.
Mark Temnycky is an accredited freelance journalist on Eurasian affairs and a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. It can be discovered in X @MTemnycky.
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