Ukraine's emotional stars bidding for the World Cup amid the backdrop of war

On the evening before Russian troops escalated the invasion of Ukraine in February, Roman Yaremchuk came off the substitutes' bench in a tightly-poised Champions League knockout tie at the opposite end of Europe.

The Benfica striker had prepared himself for what he would do if this was to be the night he ended his barren spell in front of goal with his club trailing 2-1 against Ajax in Lisbon.

Ten minutes after entering the pitch, Yaremchuk headed in the goal on which the tie would pivot in Benfica’s favour. He peeled off his shirt to reveal the coat of arms of his native Ukraine.

Next morning, the fighting was under way. The Ukraine midfielder, Ruslan Malinovskyi, posted a detailed map of the several areas of conflict and shelling across the country. That evening, Malinovskyi, of Atalanta, struck two superb left-foot drives in his club’s 3-0 Europa League win at Olympiakos. He had not scored a brace of goals from open play in a single match for over six years. He too had something prepared, a T-shirt bearing the message ‘No war in Ukraine’.

High-level sport is most effectively played with a clear, cold-eyed focus on the immediate, events on the pitch. But there are times when carrying into a contest an emotional charge, a sense of broader responsibility, can lift an individual’s performance. Some of the most prominent current Ukrainian footballers very plainly raised their games when attention was on them because it was suddenly on their country.

Zinchenko broke down in tears after wrapping the Premier League trophy in the Ukrainian flag