Brother in the Ukrainian national football team died in the war.

Footballer Luba Szmatko will not be able to play in the first match of the Nations League due to her brother's death in the war

Head coach of the team Włodzimierz Piatienko announced that Luba Szmatko will certainly miss the first match against the Czech Republic due to her personal tragedy.

The Szmatko family is mourning, her brother died in the war, which is why Luba returned from Turkey to Ukraine. She wants to be with her family. We support her and wait in the team because she is needed as well. That's why she is not in the first game, but for the second - I hope she will be ready. She is strong and will cope. Condolences to her and the family, we support her and hope everything will be fine

Luba Szmatko is a key player of the Ukrainian national team and has already played in two previous matches of the team. Since 2019, she has played 46 matches for the Ukrainian national team.

The matches against the Czech Republic will take place on April 4 and 8. Ukraine and the Czech Republic have the same number of points in the tournament.

It should also be noted that the team "Bukovyna" from Chernivtsi won the semifinals of the Ukrainian Football Cup.

The remaining matches of the tournament are scheduled for April 2, and the final will take place on May 14 in Zhytomyr.