Hope amid war! Ukraine football team back to winning ways ahead of Qatar 2022 qualifier

Ukraine's national team were able to briefly turn their focus back to football on Wednesday when they beat Borussia Monchengladbach 2-1 in a friendly.

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On an emotional night that saw football fans stand together united against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the war-torn country's football team played their first game since Putin's forces launched a full-blown attack in February.

Ukraine's national team were able to briefly turn their focus back to football on Wednesday when they beat Borussia Monchengladbach 2-1 in a friendly. The match, which saw the crowd flash several posters appealing to bring the war to an end, acted as a useful warm-up game for next month's Qatar World Cup 2022 qualifier with Scotland.

Ukraine's Mykhaylo Mudryk and Oleksandr Pikhalyonok scored to earn a narrow win in Germany on a day when the spirit of the game stood out as the shining light in the face of continued adversity in the war-torn eastern European nation.

Last month, plans to hold the friendly at Borussia Park were revealed and all the profits of the game will be donated to charitable causes for the people of Ukraine. 

In action for the first time since their 2-0 victory away to Bosnia in November, the visitors took a lead in the ninth minute thanks to a strike from Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Mudryk.

Over 20,000 people, which included Ukrainians who attended for free, saw the hosts Borussia Monchengladbach respond instantly with a goal from Conor Noss to ensure it was level at half-time.

Substitute Pikhalyonok had the final say on proceedings and earned a victory for Ukraine in Germany with a striker in the 82nd-minute. 

A Borussia Monchengladbach statement read, "We're glad that we could help Ukraine with their preparations for the World Cup play-offs and would like to wish them all the best!"

Oleksandr Petrakov and his team will next head to Italy to face Serie A outfit Empoli on May 17 in a friendly. The Ukraine national team will hope to register a win again as they prepare for their Qatar World Cup 2022 qualifier showdown against Scotland on June 1.