Match Preview: Scotland Host Ukraine With World Cup Spot at Stake

• World Cup qualification will tonight take centre stage when Scotland clash with Ukraine in Glasgow in the semifinals of the European World Cup playoffs
• The fixture was initially slated for March but the political instability in Ukraine forced organisers to push it forward with the winner facing Wales in the finals
• Scotland last participated in the World Cup in 1998 while Ukraine's last appearance came in 2006 where they reached the Last 8

Scotland will tonight welcome Ukraine at the Hampden Park in Glasgow in the semi-finals of the European World Cup qualifiers.

Ukraine will go into this fixture on the backdrop of war and imbalance in their country due to the Russian invasion in February. This game was originally scheduled for March this year but had to be moved forward due to the uncertainty in Ukraine.

Scotland are gunning to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1998. Ukraine meanwhile last appeared in the top-class event in 2006 where they lost 3-0 to eventual winners Italy in the quarter-finals.

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Match Preview

Steven Clarke's side finished second in Group F behind Denmark after recording seven wins. Sports Mole reports that they took part in international friendlies against Poland and Austria in March where they drew both games.

Ukraine similarly finished second behind defending World Cup champions France. They have not played any sort of football since beating Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 on November 16th.

The two sides have only met twice before in their history and both occasions were in 2008. Ukraine won 2-0 in Kyiv before Scotland exacted their revenge a year later winning 3-1 at home.

Team News

Clarke will surely miss the services of Kieran Tierney who was ruled out from the rest of the season with a knee injury. Ryan Jack has also withdrawn from the squad.

Captain Andrew Robertson is expected to lead from the start despite playing the full minutes in Liverpool's Champions League disappointment against Real Madrid.

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Ukraine meanwhile have no injury concerns. Oleksandr Zinchenko will play in the midfield to accommodate Everton's fullback Vitally Mykolenko. West Ham's Andriy Yarmolenko is also expected to lead the hunt for goals alongside Roman Yeremenchuk.

The winner of this tie plays Wales in the finals on Sunday.

Possible starting line-ups

Scotland

Gordon; Hendry, Hanley, Cooper; O'Donnell, McTominay, McGregor, Robertson; McGinn, Dykes, Christie

Ukraine

Pyatov; Karavaev, Zabarnyi, Matvienko, Mykolenko; Malinovskyi, Stepanenko, Zinchenko; Yarmolenko, Yaremchuk, Tsygankov

Oleksandr Zinchenko breaks down as he calls for an end to the war in Ukraine

Sports Brief had earlier reported that Manchester City defender Oleksandr Zinchenko broke down as he narrated the effects of the Russian aggression on his home country of Ukraine.

Zinchenko was speaking to the press ahead of Ukraine’s big clash against Scotland on Wednesday night at the Hampden Park in Glasgow.

Ukraine has been war-torn since Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized his troops to war in February.