They were supported by a whole country, but that was not enough. Ukrainian footballers lost in Cardiff against Wales (1-0) on Sunday June 5. Ukraine will therefore not go to the World Cup in Qatar.
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On the lawn of Cardiff City Stadium, a free kick from star Gareth Bale, diverted into his own net by captain Andriy Yarmolenko, extinguished the dream of Ukrainians present in the stadium, like Kristina. Isolated in the middle of a tide of Welsh, she dries her tears: the blue and yellow have “lost with honors“, she says.
Wrapped in her Ukrainian flag, the young woman prefers to leave sport aside. “We didn’t win this match, but we are still proud to be there and support them. You know, sometimes we need to lose, but one day we’ll win a much bigger trophy when we win this war. I’m sure we’ll win!“
Her boyfriend, Andreï, also looks beyond football. Comforted by many Welsh supporters, iI hope this meeting was at least useful. “This match was a hope for all of Ukraine. Even our soldiers on the front line watch TV on their cell phones. And honestly, the match united the Ukrainians a little more. It just wasn’t our day.“, he regrets.
Thousands of kilometers away, despite the defeat, in the streets of kyiv, the supporters also preferred to remember the positive aspects of the evening. We could hear applause and patriotic slogans at the end of the match, despite the defeat. Keeping your head up is essential at the moment, according to Marc, who spent his evening with friends in front of a giant screen. “I hope… No! I am sure that this defeat will not demoralize us and that we will concentrate on our victory on the front!“, he assures.
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Marc is however mobilisable: at any time, he can join the ranks of the army. This evening of football was a breath of fresh air for him, and he wanted to make the most of it. So much for the defeat of his team. “It’s important to live each moment as if it were the last. From one day to the next, they can call me and ask me to join the front. So every day, every moment, is important. And tonight may be my last night in my city.“
And then, this football, beer and terrace evening, for many inhabitants of kyiv, it recalls life before the conflict with Russia. Michalo, 23, knows to whom he owes all this: “Going out to a bar, watching football, leading an almost normal life… For that, we have our men and women on the front lines to thank. They fight for us and it is thanks to their resistance that we can have all this.“A pleasant evening, with friends, even if because of the curfew in place in kyiv, the supporters had to return quickly to their homes.