Wales will not succumb to the emotional and political charge of playing against Ukraine

The pouring rain at Cardiff City Stadium did not affect Dafydd Iwan’s mood before kick-off. Imperturbably he whipped up the audience with his performance of ‘Yma o Hyd’. The song is a patriotic tribute to Wales. Despite adversity, is the crux of the chorus, the nation always stands firm. Using this message as a handle, the national football team refused to show compassion for Ukraine.

The hunger to compete in the World Cup since 1958 has been stronger in Wales than the desire of most of the world to comfort Ukraine with qualification for the final round in Qatar. The Red Wall in the stands clapped for the supporters and players of the ravaged country, embroiled in a bloody war with Russia, but stood behind their team without hesitation.

Without shame, the footballers on the pitch celebrated Cardiff’s miracle. With the 78-year-old Iwan, glasses are fogged by the precipitation, as a mascot on the soaking wet field. He sang his folk song about the departure of Magnus Maximus, the last Roman emperor, and the headwinds of the English. Even on Judgment Day, Wales refuses to kneel, the fans roared with him for the second time. “Despite everything and everyone, we are still here.”

The nationalist anthem by the grandson of the party’s co-founder Plaid Cymru, who champions independence, has long been used as fuel for international matches within the team. Defender Connor Roberts of Burnley indicated that he always played the song to “get that little bit of extra fire in my body and to make me run a little faster”. what the movie brave heart long for the Scots, so does Yma o Hyd for the Welsh.

Brazil with Pelé

Due to the aftermath of the Suez crisis, Wales participated in the World Cup in Sweden 64 years ago more or less by accident. Sudan and Egypt refused to play against Israel, so FIFA drew lots to organize a play-off. Belgium won, but did not accept the invitation. Then the choice fell on Wales, which defeated Israel in two matches. The team survived the group stage at the World Cup, after which Brazil waited.

Without star football player John Charles, 17-year-old Pelé stole the show. The Brazilian teenager scored the only goal, his first in a final round. The selecao captured the world title, with dribbling wonder Garrincha on the flanks. Wales fell into oblivion. The nation remained far in the shadow of the rest of the Home Nations, forever musing on what could have been at Nye Ullevi stadium in Gothenburg.

The Russian invasion threatened to make it difficult to get out of the wasteland after more than half a century. Scotland previously succumbed to the emotional and political load of playing against Ukraine. In the semi-finals of the World Cup qualifying play-offs, the crowd at Hampden Park and the media embraced the troubled opponent. Scotland lost (3-1), blown away by the thoughts of the dramas that took place in Mariupol and Kiev.

In Cardiff, Vlada Shcheglova spoke to Sky Sports before kick-off to address the atrocities committed by the Russian military. The wife of Manchester City left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko shifted attention from sport to the situation in her country, both verbally and outwardly. Wearing traditional clothes, reminiscent of anti-Russian politician Yulia Tymoshenko, she asked viewers not to avert their eyes from the humanitarian disaster.

Zinchenko, spokesperson for the Ukrainian team, received applause. In the dressing room hung a flag bearing the signatures of soldiers. Soldiers in besieged areas followed the proceedings via radios, makeshift televisions and mobile telephones. Scotland, most recently at a World Cup in 1998, was ostensibly shaken by such information. In Wales it was different.

Talisman Gareth Bale

With Gareth Bale as a talisman, the team feels able to rise above itself. The Real Madrid attacker, where he will leave on a free transfer this summer, has mastered the art of transforming into the red shirt with the dragon on the emblem. In the play-off against Austria, he helped his country to victory with two sublime goals. Bale, seen in Madrid as ballast, single-handedly drives Wales on.

He delivered again against Ukraine. Andriy Yarmolenko accidentally extended a free kick from his foot with a floating header behind his own keeper (1-0). In the slogan ‘Wales, Golf, Madrid, in that order‘, a wink to his Spanish critics, once again had a large grain of truth. Goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey, third choice at Burnley, did the rest with “the best performance of my career”. “When Gareth is on the pitch, you know there will be magical moments,” Hennessey praised his 32-year-old captain. Bale is now looking for a club to maintain his form. Without the World Cup on the horizon, he would probably have announced his retirement. Bale, portrayed as a parasite by sports newspapers in Madrid, was awarded a ribbon by Queen Elizabeth earlier in the week for his hefty donations to the NHS healthcare system during the pandemic.

Should Wales be ashamed of the lavish party afterwards? Columnist Roy Liddle van The Times didn’t think so. “We are too afraid to give the Ukrainians what they really want: a no-fly zone and perhaps high-tech artillery,” he wrote. “Instead of sending them tanks, we shake their shoulders and we massively hope that they win Eurovision and the World Cup.”

The mission to become “the most unpopular country in the world” through profits from Ukraine, such as The Guardian noted, Wales could handle. Bale delivered more than a victory to the people. He delivered “the moment shown every day on Welsh television, until the sun engulfs the earth.” Zinchenko remained a gentleman, but his dream to give the Ukrainians a glimmer of hope through football was shattered.