A popular German publication, Kicker, has given significant attention to the friendly match between Germany and Ukraine, which marked the 1000th game in the history of the national team. The article mentions:

"In its 1000th match, Germany will play against the Ukrainian national team. A country that Russia has invaded and for which football is an important part of freedom and self-assertion."

Andriy Pavelko was moved: "A helping hand at this time is simply invaluable." The President of the Ukrainian Football Association thanked the German Football Federation, which chose Ukraine as the opponent for Germany's 1000th match. All proceeds from it will go to help those affected by Russia’s aggressive war.

However, this game might not have taken place. But the opposite happened despite the Russian military invasion in February 2022, which threatened and still threatens the very existence of an independent Ukrainian state. And along with that, of course, the viability of Ukrainian football.

The key defensive midfielder of the national team and Donetsk's Shakhtar, Taras Stepanenko, vividly remembers the day everything changed: "At that time I was at home with my family. We were woken up by loud explosions. I turned on the TV to see what was happening, and my wife said: 'Football is over, war has begun.'

The 2021/2022 Ukrainian championship had to be suspended, and matches for World Cup qualification were postponed. But no one could help but wonder how long this would go on?

"After the initial shock came the realization that we needed to preserve Ukrainian football even in those horrific conditions in which we found ourselves. It was very difficult because gatherings of people at football matches are a target for an enemy who wants to launch missile strikes. God forbid if this had happened—what then?" — recalls Andriy Pavelko.

However, weighing all the pros and cons, the decision in favor of football was made in the Office of the Head of State. And although matches were played without spectators, Ukrainian football received a strong signal of support.

"Thanks to this decision during full-scale war conditions, numerous risks, restrictions, and threats, we managed to revive and preserve football in Ukraine," — is confident Andriy Pavelko.

The Premier League championship of wartime ended in Ukraine on June 4. Sixteen clubs completed a full football season with the slogan "We are one boldness!" This season was truly special as it took place under conditions of full-scale war.

"When we started the competitions, no one could predict whether we would be able to complete them in their entirety. But thanks to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the bravery and heroism of our soldiers, this became possible," — emphasizes Andriy Pavelko.

It must be acknowledged that all of this took place under extremely difficult circumstances.

Shakhtar won the championship trophy, and during the award ceremony for the best young player in the league, 20-year-old midfielder Georgy Sudakov confessed: "I think we wrote history during the war because a year ago no one knew where I would end up or if there was even a chance to play football. Now I am holding the championship cup and wearing a gold medal. We won the championship under the sound of bombardments, and this is incredible."

For 30-year-old defender Oleksandr Karavaev of Kyiv's Dynamo and Ukraine’s national team, football took a back seat from day one of the war: "What else could I think about when my parents in Kherson immediately found themselves under occupation? It was simply incomprehensible why Russians came to occupy our land. They immediately closed all humanitarian corridors, and instead of football, I constantly had to think about how to ensure food, water, and medicine for my relatives."

Like Karavaev, many other national team players felt the same way. Most of them stayed in Ukraine and were forced to play in the national championship under immense psychological pressure.

According to 33-year-old veteran Taras Stepanenko, no one in Europe can imagine the conditions in which Ukrainian footballers had to play: "The match is going on when suddenly an air raid siren goes off. The game immediately stops and everyone has to run to a bomb shelter. There they sit and wait for the all-clear signal. It may take half an hour or more. After that, warm-up and resumption of the game, which can again be interrupted by an alarm. And so from match to match throughout the season."

Of course, international matches could not take place in Ukraine. Shakhtar had to play European Cup games in Warsaw, while the national team played their home matches in various cities of Poland.

Since the start of the war, the Ukrainian national team has played nine official matches. Four wins were secured, two ended in draws (the difference in goals—13-8 in favor of Ukraine).

The most unfortunate failure occurred in Wales (0:1)—after which the ticket to the World Cup was lost. The qualification for Euro 2024 began with a guest defeat against England (0:2).

Beside the team's bench in London temporarily stood Ruslan Rotan, while until the end of last year, Alexander Petrakov coached the national team. However, the main candidate for the position was Serhiy Rebrov, whose last place of work was club Al-Ain (UAE). He became the head coach of Ukraine’s national team, and his coaching staff included three Spanish assistants with whom he won twice (2015, 2016) with Kyiv's Dynamo in UPL and thrice (2019, 2020, 2021) with Ferencvaros—Hungary’s championship.

Rebrov, unlike his assistants, has already moved to Ukraine and feels very motivated by his mission: "Being abroad made it extremely difficult for me to watch the horrific scenes of unprovoked and brutal aggression against our country. I will not tire of repeating: world leaders must do more to help stop the suffering of the Ukrainian people! As for football, we need to give our people confidence in better days ahead with our victories!"

For his first training camp in Bremen, preparing for a match against Germany and two Euro 2024 qualifiers against North Macedonia (June 16) and Malta (June 19), Rebrov called up 27 players. Sixteen of them represent Ukrainian clubs, while the rest play abroad. During the war, representation overseas has doubled almost twofold. Among the overseas players is 22-year-old Mykhailo Mudryk who moved to Chelsea. Other young talents include Georgy Sudakov from Shakhtar, Illya Zabarnyi (20 years old, Bournemouth), and 21-year-old forward of Kyiv's Dynamo Vladyslav Vanat.

Experienced players are represented by such performers as Stepanenko, London Arsenal’s versatile player Oleksandr Zinchenko (26 years old), 30-year-old midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi from Marseille Olympique and 33-year-old forward Andriy Yarmolenko (Al-Ain, UAE).

The squad is quite balanced, but the future of the national team at present depends not only on purely sporting aspects. The war affects all Ukrainian players in one way or another. As Taras Stepanenko said about what he and his teammates feel: "I will never forget what Russia did to me, my family, and my fellow citizens."