Ukraine start WC play-off preparation in Slovenia
BRDOCASTLE: Ukraine midfielder Taras Stepanenko saidonfridaythattheteamfromthewar-torncountry would “play with our souls and our hearts” as they prepare in Slovenia for their 2022 World Cup play-off against Scotland. Preparations started this week at the Slovenian Football Association training centre at Brdo pri Kranju, some 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of the capital Ljubljana.
Ukraine coach Oleksandr Petrakov gathered 23 players from Ukrainian clubs and expects others to arrive from across Europe when the season ends.
Sincetheirarrivaltobrdo,playershavebeentraining twice a day, giving the coach the opportunity to choose who he will take to Scotland for the game on June 1. Stepanenko said the war, which began when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, had kept him away from the football field and without training for over a month, but he and his team-mates were geting back in shape.
“It is not only a football game. We have to play with our souls and our hearts,” the 32-year-old told journalists before beginning aternoon training.
“We get messages from our soldiers... and they have only one demand: please make everything you can to go on to the World Cup.”
If the team qualifies for Qatar, “it will be a celebration for the country,” Stepanenko said.
“For the country, for them (soldiers) it’s a moment of hope,” he said.
Ukraine will play a friendly game with German club Borussia Moenchengladbach on May 11, the country’s football association announced last Friday, in a warm-up ahead of their World Cup play-off against Scotland in Glasgow.
Petrakovsaidmorefriendliesarebeingnegotiated by the Ukrainian Football Federation.
“The most important for our players is that they give all they can at the friendlies, as if they were official matches,” Petrakov said.
“Wewouldliketogotoqatarverymuch,”petrakov told journalists.
The winner of the match will play Wales in Cardiff on June 5 to determine which country goes to Qatar.
FIFA REJECT ALGERIA’S CALL TO REPLAY WC PLAY-OFF: Algeria’s desperate bid to have their World Cup play-off with Cameroon replayed has been rejected by the competition organisers FIFA, the Algerian Football Federation said on Saturday.
Algeriawonthefirstlegoftheplay-off1-0inmarch but were beaten 2-1 in the return leg to miss out on one of the five berths at the finals for African nations.
The Algerian federation claimed the refereeing of the second tie by Gambian Bakary Gassama was “scandalous” while the FIFA referees commitee rejected this view. “The referees decisions had no negative influence,” FIFA said.