When we ask coach Serhiy Rebrov and his players what their objectives are in this Euro 2024 football, the answers are numerous. Pay tribute to the soldiers who fought to liberate the national territory from Russian troops. Offer a little joy and pride to their compatriots, exiled or back home. Remind the Old Continent, and beyond, of the reality of war… The emotional charge surrounding Ukrainians is such that we have tended to forget the most basic of them: winning matches to go as far as possible in the tournament.
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Not that the Blue and Yellow imagine themselves lifting the Henri-Delaunay trophy on July 14 at the Olympic stadium in Berlin, but they can claim qualification for the round of 16. After all, they had reached the quarterfinals in 2021, during the last summer of their “before life”. However, the failed entry into the running against Romania (0-3) on Monday had complicated their task.
Friday June 21 in Düsseldorf, captain Andriy Yarmolenko and his teammates had to raise the bar against Slovakia, surprise winner of the Belgian favorite (1-0) a few days earlier. “Of course we believe we can do it, declared Arsenal full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko in a pre-match press conference. But it’s one thing to say it and another to do it. »
A symbolic poster on the geopolitical level
Shortly before 5 p.m., when English referee Michael Oliver whistled the end of the game, Roman Yaremchuk fell to his knees, in tears. He, the providential man of this meeting who, at the 80e minute, gave victory to the Blue and Yellow (2-1). The Merkur Spielarena can explode with joy: “U-kra-ï-ny!” U-kra-ï-ny! »
The match of the day being decisive on a sporting level, Serhiy Rebrov like his players tried to only think about the pitch. However, the poster was not devoid of symbolism on the geopolitical level, Slovakia being one of the rare countries of the European Union (EU) whose Prime Minister, Robert Fico, and President, Peter Pellegrini, are known for their pro-Moscow rhetoric. The first notably declared, in January, that Ukraine was not “not a sovereign nation” and that she had to “give up part of your territory” to its eastern neighbor; a position that he subsequently moderated, however.
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The fact remains that in the background of the meeting against the Falcons there was the question of potential political expressions in the stands. The rules of UEFA – which governs football on the continent – are clear: these are not welcome. But the situation is a little more complicated in the case of Ukraine, determined to make its team’s first major competition since the outbreak of the conflict a platform for its cause and whose aggressor was formally sanctioned by the instances of the round ball.
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