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Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
Tom Coleman

Ukraine stars inundated with good luck messages from soldiers on front line as huge Wales World Cup clash looms

Ukraine's players have been inundated with hundreds of messages of support ahead of the make or break World Cup showdown with Wales.

Ukraine booked their spot in the play-off final after an astonishing night against Scotland at Hampden Park, with scenes of jubilation at the end. A packed away end toasted the efforts of their heroes, some of whom hadn't played a single minute of competitive football this year.

Next up are Wales and Shakhtar Donetsk's Taras Stepanenko revealed the players are aware of the joy they are creating back home, perhaps offering a tiny piece of respite from the fight against the Russian invasion.

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"I have had maybe 100 messages from my friends and from my family and the army who serve," he said.

"I can’t explain, this game for our nation is unbelievable. It is really great emotions for our nation. It’s went from our heart and our soul. Sometimes, I can’t say what I feel. When I heard the anthem of Ukraine, I wanted to cry."

Fellow midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi added: "We have a lot of contact with a lot of people on the front. It's normal people, our friends, they texted before the game saying, “Guys, we are with you, do your job on the pitch and we'll do our job to protect our country”."

Ukraine will, of course, have to go through it all again against Wales on Sunday, and Malinovskyi warns that a failure to finish the job and secure a place in Qatar will effectively render their heroics in Glasgow ultimately meaningless.

"This win is important but if we don't win the next game, it's for nothing," he added. "We need to be calm and focus on the next game."

Wales v Ukraine kicks off at 5pm on Sunday, June 5 at Cardiff City Stadium.

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