Ukraine National Team Play First Soccer Match Of 2022 Ahead Of World Cup Play-Offs

The Ukrainian national team played for the first time in six months on Wednesday night as they took on Bundesliga outfit Borussia Monchengladbach.

Ukraine's last match had been in November and this was their first outing since the country was invaded by Russia in February.

Ukraine won 2-1 at Borussia-Park, where more than 20,000 fans were in attendance.

The Ukraine squad was made up entirely of players from Ukrainian clubs, who have also not played since February's invasion.

Shakhtar Donetsk's Mykhailo Mudryk and Dnipro's Oleksandr Pikhalyonok scored for Ukraine, either side of a Conor Noss equalizer for Gladbach.

Mykhailo Mudryk pictured celebrating after scoring Ukraine's first goal of 2022 in a friendly against Borussia Monchengladbach

IMAGO/Moritz Muller

Free entry was granted to Ukrainian nationals, while all profits from the game will be donated to charities supporting those affected by the ongoing war in Ukraine.

As well as to raise funds, the match had been organized to help the Ukrainian team prepare for their upcoming World Cup qualifying play-off.

Ukraine play Scotland on June 1, with the winner taking on Wales four days later for a place at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

The game against Scotland had originally been due to take place on March 24 but was postponed because of the Russian invasion.

A crowd of 20,223 fans watched the charity match in Germany

IMAGO/Team 2/Maik Holter