Ukraine given extra time to prepare for the European playoff

Ukraine’s national football team was given some extra months for the preparation for European playoffs matches, as Russia was out of qualifying due to its war on Ukraine

Many pundits and analysts always believed in the fact that there should always be a distinction between sports and politics. But, by observing the recent situation of Russia declaring war on Ukraine, the FIFA committee took certain actions.

After Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Russia was thrown out of the 2022 World Cup but Ukraine was given a few months extra to prepare and play the European Playoffs matches. Ukraine will have to win their two games scheduled this week to confirm their place in the World Cup 2022.

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The winner of the next game in Glasgow will face Wales next. The winner of that game will decide who will play in the world cup along with England, the United States, and Iran.

Ukrainian midfielder Taras Stepanenko earlier said that,

“The players’ morale is sky-high,” Petrakov said Monday. “There is no need to influence them, to say anything. They are experienced footballers and understand everything perfectly well.” The goodwill toward Ukrainian soccer led FIFA to praise officials in Scotland and Wales for a “strong spirit of solidarity and cooperation” after they agreed to postpone the playoff and help give their opponent a fair chance.

Graeme Souness, the former Scottish player who captained his side to two world cups said,

“I don’t just want Ukraine to qualify, I want them to go there (to Qatar) and win it,” Souness told British daily The Times on Monday. “My emotions when I think about it deeply are that it’s more important than football to send a message that Russia’s behavior is unacceptable.”

Russia was to play Sweden, the Czech Republic, and Poland in March. But, all the three teams refused to play against them. FIFA took the decision as one of the fair standing decisions. Other nations too boycotted Russia so did FIFA by boycotting them to play in the FIFA World Cup 2022 and sending a message by standing against war.

Manchester City Ukrainian Star Oleksandr Zinchenko also took to social media to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin by saying,

“I hope you die the most painful suffering death.”

Zinchenko’s club Manchester City won the Premier League title recently, fighting till the end and winning it dramatically on the last day. He also tied a Ukrainian flag to the trophy, to show his support for his country.