| Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow Date: Wednesday, 1 June Time: 19:45 BST |
| Coverage: Listen to live commentary on Sportsound, follow live text updates on the BBC Sport website & app, and watch highlights on Sportscene |
The World Cup play-off semi-final against Scotland is more than just a football game for the Ukranian people, according to legend Andriy Shevchenko.
Since independence in 1991, Ukraine has qualified for the World Cup.
The match was moved due to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
The former player who managed the national team at Euro 2020 said that the Scotland match is the hope of the country.
Going to the World Cup is important for Ukraine.
The motivation is amazing. We need to put the result away and focus on the game.
We need to play for the fans, for those at home, for those who defended the country, and for those who left the country.
The winner of the game in Glasgow will face Wales in Wales on Sunday for a place in the World Cup.
The stadium will be full and the Scottish fans will be cheering, as well as those who will watch the game around the world - Ukrainians or not - will be cheering, said Shevchenko, who scored 48 goals in 112 appearances for his country.
I think we can beat Wales and qualify for the World Cup. The players know what they have to do.
Oleksandr Petrakov, who replaced Shevchenko in August 2021, says his players are happy.
He said there was no need to influence them or say anything.
But preparations have been difficult. The war has made it difficult for the players to prepare for the game outside of their country.
Football was halted by war just days before the domestic season was about to resume, and many of those based in Ukranian have had little or no competitive action since.
The training camp was possible only after the players from Shakhtar were given special permission to leave the country and tour Europe.
They have played against club teams in Germany, Italy and Croatia, but their fitness is not up to international standards.
Scotland's opponents are likely to have plenty of neutral support during the play-offs, but the semi-final will also be followed closely by those on the front line of the war.
Artem Fedietsky joined the territorial defence after Russia invaded.
I was in the hot-spot of the war, Fedetskyi said.
Soldiers talk a lot about football there. They want our team to qualify for the World Cup.
He made sure that the message reached the two most prominent players in the Ukrainian squad.
He said that he was talking to both of them. You can't train that because nobody knows what's inside of each person.
Oleksandr Kucher is the manager of second-tier side Metalist Kharkiv.
He said that it was not enough to play a friendly.
The team needs to offer hope. I think we will go through and play Wales at the weekend.
I have no doubt that our players will leave everything on the pitch.
Even before the war, Ukraine faced a daunting task to reach the World Cup, given Scotland's resurgence and the prospect of facing a Wales side in the final who are a dominant force on home soil.
Despite the difficulties they have faced in the build-up, Fedetskyi believes Petrakov will be able to motivate his team.
Fedietsky said that the coach is a good speaker.
Petrak will create fighters just like our heroes are at home. They will win the war.
The national team will have a tough match because Scotland are strong. I believe in our leaders. They are ready.
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