In Ukraine, watching World Cup, playing football pose challenges

Great escape: Hlib Kuian (left) and Roman Kryvyi watching a World Cup match on a screen at Mazza Cafe kebab-stand in Irpin. — AP

IRPIN (Ukraine): Ukrainian video-game vendor Roman Kryvyi, fresh from a football game on a snow-blanketed field in suburban Kyiv, sat up close to a TV in a kebab shop as intermittent city power returned just in time for the World Cup game between Wales and England.

For the 22-year-old football buff, there was no question about which side to support in the matchup: He remembers how he was crestfallen – rolling on the floor in despair and on the verge of tears – when Wales ousted his beloved Ukraine in the qualifiers. The grudge hasn’t worn off.