Scotland v Ukraine: Message is clear - 'you are too old and don’t have any military skills, instead you better bring us to the World Cup'

On one hand, the task facing Scotland is clear. Win two matches and qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1998. Yet the path to their dream destination could not be more emotionally complicated.

Standing between them and a play-off final against Wales is a nation currently embroiled in a fight for its very survival and all the human suffering that entails as Ukraine battles to withstand the ongoing Russian invasion.

Against that backdrop, a football match, regardless of what is at stake, is put firmly in perspective.

The outpouring of sympathy for the Ukrainian people will extend to the majority of the world supporting them in their cause to reach the tournament in Qatar, including some Scots it seems.

Former Scotland captain, Graeme Souness, has admitted that he cannot bring himself to cheer on the side that he represented at three World Cups due to the situation in Ukraine. And he is not alone.

For some, football and war cannot be easily separated and the idea of inflicting what would be a painful defeat on the Ukrainian people while rockets rain down on their homeland does not sit right.

But the notion that the Ukrainian side would even want a free pass to the tournament, that they would rather not be asked to compete, or that they won't be ready to play, appears wide of the mark.

The 21 home-based squad members, mainly from Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kyiv, have been based at a training camp in Brdo, Slovenia since the start of May having been granted special dispensation to leave the country, with the blessing of president Volodymyr Zelensky.

They have played a number of bounce matches, beating Borussia Moenchengladbach and Empoli before drawing with Rijeka of Croatia, in an attempt to make up for the