They will go head-to-head tomorrow for a place in the final of the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CPISRA) Football 7-a-Side European Championships.

Ukraine are the defending champions, while Russia are world champions from 2011 and London 2012 Paralympic champions.

Both secured emphatic quater-final wins in Maia, Portugal with Ukraine thrashing Northern Ireland 6-0.

Russia gave opponents England a similarly bruising match, winning 5-1.

While it is hoped the semi-final will be played in good spirits, it will be hard to ignore the troubles between the two countries since Russia's annexation of Crimea in March.

Russia will be looking for a repeat of their 1-0 victory over Ukraine in the London 2012 7-a-side final ©Getty Images



Tensions have increased further since the downing of Malaysia Airline flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine earlier this month, with Russian-supplied equipment being blamed for the missile strike that killed 298 people.

The tournament's other semi-final will be played by two dark horses in the form of Ireland and The Netherlands.

Ireland beat hosts Portugal 6-2 in yesterday's quarter-final, while The Netherlands dispatched Scotland 3-0.

In the group stages, Ireland beat the Dutch by a slender 1-0, and will hope for a repeat when they meat again.

Both semi-finals will be played tomorrow, with the final on Saturday (August 2).

Ukraine won the European title via a penalty shoot-out against Russia in Glasgow in 2010, while Russia came out on top in the Paralympic gold medal match against Ukraine 1-0.