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CARDIFF, Wales — Oleksandr Petrakov wanted to apologise. The Ukraine coach had just seen his team dominate a World Cup playoff final against Wales in Cardiff, but a combination of Gareth Bale’s match-winning qualities and a stunning performance by goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey earned a 1-0 victory, and World Cup qualification, for the home side.
Ukraine’s dream of overcoming impossibly difficult circumstances to make it to Qatar — the country has been at war since being invaded by Russia in February — might ultimately seem a trivial pursuit, but football still matters, even in the bleakest of times. That dream is over and Petrakov knew how much reaching the World Cup mattered.
“We did everything we could, but I want the people of Ukraine to remember our efforts,” Petrakov said. “We didn’t score, and I want to say sorry for that, but this is sport and this is what happens.”
It was Arrigo Sacchi, the great AC Milan coach, who described football as “the most important of the unimportant things in life” and, as Ukraine’s players lay on the turf at the end of the game, Sacchi’s statement was given a living embodiment by the scenes on the pitch.
Ukraine’s players were crestfallen and heartbroken, but their red-shirted opponents sprinted to hug a teammate, slide on the pitch or tearfully seek out family in the crowd. The contrast was stark, but it showed the importance of this game to both sets of players.
It seemed the whole world wanted Ukraine to win this playoff and make it to Qatar 2022, if only to enable the country to have a sporting outlet for its defiance against Russia’s ongoing invasion, but for 90 minutes this was all about football, and Wales haven’t been to a World Cup since 1958, so their celebrations at the end were all about drawing a line under their 64-year wait.
Despite their determination to make the most of that moment, though, there was a poignant scene when Bale and his teammates walked to the section housing the Ukraine supporters to applaud…
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Source : espn
