A smattering of Ukrainians will be dotted around the south side of Glasgow as their nation look to secure a place in the Euro 2020 quarter finals at the expense of Sweden.
The two nations meet at Hampden in the final last-16 tie for the right to take on the winners of the earlier clash between Euro giants England and Germany.
Covid travel restrictions mean supporters of the two nations will be unable to attend, with those already based in Britain and locals making up the crowd.
Ukraine faced a sweat to make the knockout stage before they were confirmed as the last of the four best third-placed teams.
And they are regarded as outsiders even in this tie against a Sweden side who some view as dark horses for the tournament.
But Ukraine are still a team with plenty of talent and are managed by their country’s greatest ever players – of which there are plenty – in the legendary Andriy Shevchenko.
However, talent alone doesn’t guarantee success and Rangers fans know that better than anyone when it comes to one former Ukrainian player.
It’s 30 years ago this month since Alexei Mikhailichenko arrived at Ibrox in what was a then record £2million fee for a Scottish club.
Mikhailichenko had just won Serie A with Sampdoria – his second domestic league medal in a row after winning the last of his four Soviet titles Dynamo Kiev before moving to Italy – and would go on to win five on the trot in Scotland to make it an impressive seven-in-a-row.
He was also victorious at Hampden where his compatriots will hope to be triumphant tonight, winning the 1992 Scottish Cup final against two Airdrie with two other domestic cup winners at Celtic Park.
But his medal haul doesn't tell the whole story of his time at Rangers where he didn’t show his huge talent during a lengthy spell, although he might argue he was deployed as a reluctant winger as opposed to his more favourable central position.
Team-mates talk of a great enigma and Water Smith, when asked at an AGM how he could get more out of his big money signing, quipped: “Alexei is somewhat economical with his movement” and “warms up with a hair dryer”.
The last statement was in reference to a frustrated Archie Knox, who had ordered him to warm up, apparently finding him in the dressing room with a hairdryer saying “Miko warm".
But if he didn’t make the most of it at Rangers, there was no doubting his talent. He gave a glimpse in his very first outing for the Light Blues with an attempt to score from the halfway line.
He also played a blinder in the 4-2 1994 Ne’erday Old Firm derby win at Parkhead while delivering a brilliant cross for Gary McSwegan to score in the thrilling Champions League comeback draw against Marseille.
But those moments were all too few. This was a player who had finished fourth in the Ballon d'Or list behind the legendary Dutch trio of Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten.
He was part of the former USSR side beaten by Holland in the final of that summer’s European Championships, but had some memorable moments including a goal to cap a fine display in the 3-1 win against England.
Mikhailichenko came to the attention of Rangers a year earlier when he was part of the Dynamo Kiev side defeated by the Ibrox team in the European Cup.
His countryman Oleg Kuznetsov was also in that Kiev side and arrived in Scotland 12 months before him but a knee injury meant he couldn’t demonstrate why Graeme Souness claimed: “Rangers have just signed one of the best defenders in the world."
Mikhailichenko went on to assist the legendary Valery Lobanovsky – who described him as the “perfect footballer” – at Dynamo Kiev where he is currently sporting director.
They reached the semi-finals of the Champions League with the deadly pairing of Shevchenko and Sergei Rebrov up front.
How Shevchenko would love a player of Mikhailichenko in his prime for their challenge against the Swedes.
