Andrei Shevchenko, a former Ukraine player and coach, stressed that the expected meeting against Scotland is much more than just a football match.
Ukraine face Scotland on Wednesday at Hampden Park in the semi-finals of the European Cup.
"The Scotland game is the hope of the country," Shevchenko told the BBC.
"Going to the World Cup is very important for Ukraine at the moment," he said.
"We need to play for the masses, for the whole of Ukraine, for those who defend the country and for those who have left the country," he said.
"I think we can win that game and then beat Wales to qualify for the World Cup, the players know what they have to do," he said.
Ukraine is seeking to reach the World Cup for the second time in its history since independence in 1991.
The match was scheduled for March but was postponed due to the Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory.
FIFA has set june 1st for the match from which the winner qualifies for the final of one of the three tracks of the European supplement
The winner will face Wales on the World Cup qualifying ticket at Cardiff City Stadium on Sunday 5 June.