Taking on the European champions should be one of the happiest moments of a player’s career, but for Nicole Kozlova, it’s also tinged with sadness.
The Ukraine forward would love to be hosting their upcoming World Cup qualifier in Kyiv, but the ongoing Russian invasion makes that impossible.
The match will be held in Antalya in Turkey instead. It’s been more than four years since Ukraine were able to host a game on home soil.
“Anger,” Kozlova tells Sky Sports when asked about her emotions at being unable to play in front of her home fans.
“It’s unfair for the players, it’s unfair for the country. But we are grateful that we are able to play and still be able to represent our country.
“A lot of girls don’t complain. I think that’s the attitude of Ukrainian people. Life goes on but there’s no hiding about the difficulties, especially right now with the really cold winter and very limited electricity.
“A lot of the girls are living in the capital and are being hit directly. But even then, they feel like they can’t complain as a lot of them have families and friends on the frontlines. There’s always someone in a worse situation than you.”
Nicole Kozlova now plays for Glasgow City in Scotland
Kozlova is speaking to us at the training base of her club, Glasgow City. The Canada-born player moved to Scotland from champions Vorskla Poltava in 2024 but most of the Ukraine squad still live and play in their home country.
“You have to adjust,” she said. “For example, the club I was at, they [Russia] actually hit one of our training facilities just a couple of weeks ago, so now that field is not in use. But life goes on and the league goes on.
“In my apartment, there were times we often didn’t have water or power. We’d all shower at the stadium because the stadium had water and our homes didn’t.
“A 90-minute football game often led to being a five-hour football game because any time there was an air siren, we had to pause to go inside to shelter.
“Most games started purposefully at 11am or 12pm because there’d be fewer air sirens and you’d have time to finish the game. 11am kick-off, 4pm the games would end.”
Players from Mariupol, right, and Shakhtar pictured in 2023 – some matches can last for four or five hours due to air raid sirens
Kozlova spent a season playing in Ukraine. What her teammates have to deal with on a daily basis is something she struggles to put into words.
“I think the hardest thing sometimes is to explain to people. It’s hard to understand if you’ve never lived through it.
“You don’t know it until you hear the first explosion. You really don’t know what it feels like, but you just want them to know what’s happening.
“It’s fear, first moment. Then it’s, ‘ok, it’s landed so-and-so distance away’. Usually, one hit means another one’s not coming, which is changing a bit now.
“You get scared and think ‘it didn’t hit me’ and then the day goes on.”
The last Ukraine match to be held at a home ground was in 2021. Since then, international games have been held at neutral venues but getting out of the country is never easy.
“The girls have to travel two days just to get to Turkey. As much as it’s a home game, unfortunately, it’s not,” Kozlova said.
“People need to realise – first, the girls need to get to Kyiv depending on where they live. Then it’s a 15-hour train ride with a five-hour standstill at the border, sometimes more.
“They then have to take a flight all the way to Turkey, usually a midnight flight. So it takes at least 24 hours and every trip is like that. They’re kind of used to it now, but I know it never gets easier.”
Despite the uncertainties at home and on the road, Kozlova feels something almost indescribable when putting on a Ukraine shirt.
“We’re playing for something a bit more than just yourself now. When we are stepping onto that pitch, we’re always reminding ourselves who we’re playing for and what we’re playing for.
“Through all the hardships, we don’t use it as an excuse, and we do everything we can to get results.”
Ukraine’s football teams continue to play international fixtures, but have not played a home game in their country for over four years
Kozlova is also hopeful she’ll be on the pitch the day international football finally returns to Ukraine. “I’d probably be speechless,” she said.
“Even now, every single national team game I play, when I line up for the national anthem, just to hear it again and to hear ourselves sing it is already quite an emotional moment and brings you back to being home.
“So to actually be able to do that at home, whenever that is, hopefully with my family there too. I think it would be the best game you’ll ever see us play.
“Hopefully, that comes sooner rather than later. We’re all hoping for the day we can play a home game.
“It’s crazy how normal it’s become for us to play home games in Turkey, Poland, wherever it can be. At the moment, that’s not the most important thing. We all know that the most important thing is for the war to end as quickly as possible.”
