Ukraine is one step from the World Cup after emotional win at Scotland

It was an incredible display from a team which hadn’t played in six months

Ukraine is just one step away from the World Cup after an emotional 3-1 win over Scotland in a playoff, as the war-torn nation returned to the field for the first time since Russia’s invasion in February.

Ukraine and Scotland were scheduled to face off in March in the UEFA playoff semifinal, but the match was pushed back to Wednesday after Russia invaded Ukraine.

With emotions high and the war still ongoing, Ukraine produced an heroic performance at Hampden Park in Glasgow, advancing to Sunday’s playoff final against Wales with a berth at the World Cup on the line.

The winner of that match in Cardiff will go into World Cup Group B alongside England, Iran and the United States.

Before the game, there were emotional scenes as Ukraine’s players entered the field draped in the flag of their country. Scotland fans were handed out cards with the words of Ukraine’s anthem so they could sing along in a show of support.

On 33 minutes, Ukraine took the lead after Andriy Yarmolenko brilliantly took down a ball over the top and lobbed the ball over Craig Gordon in Scotland’s goal.

After the break the Ukrainians doubled their lead after a patient bit of build-up play culminated in a textbook headed goal by Roman Yaremchuk.

As the game went on Ukraine began to understandably tire, with its domestic-based players well short of match fitness following the Ukrainian Premier League shutting down in February.

John McGinn missed an easy header for Scotland before Callum McGregor got a goal back with 10 minutes remaining as Ukraine looked to be in danger of conceding an equalizer.

But Ukraine held off a late Scottish charge and sealed the game deep into stoppage time when Artem Dovbyk finished off a breakaway.

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