PostedMay 31, 2022, 10:08 p.m.
Ukraine is two matches away from qualifying for the 2022 World Cup. The goal of its players: “to provide emotions to all Ukrainians, who deserve it,” said the Manchester City player.
In a press conference Oleksandr Zinchenko might not contain his tears.
AFP
The Ukraine team, which meets Scotland on Wednesday in the 2022 World Cup play-offs, “wants to give the Ukrainians incredible emotions because they deserve it right now,” Manchester City defender Oleksandr Zinchenko said on Tuesday. bursting into tears when discussing the situation in his country.
“All Ukrainians want only one thing, that this war ends,” the Manchester City player said at a press conference.
“The Ukrainian team also has its own dream, to go to the World Cup. She wants to give incredible emotions to the Ukrainians because they deserve it right now,” Zinchenko added on the eve of his team’s first official match since the invasion of his country by Russian troops.
A qualification in two stages
The game between Scotland and Ukraine in Glasgow was originally scheduled to take place in March but was postponed following the dispute began. The winner of the meeting will face Wales in Cardiff on June 5 to win a ticket for the World Cup organized in Qatar at the end of the year.
“What is happening in our country is unacceptable. We must stop this aggression, all together. Ukraine is a country of freedom, I will never give up.”
“It’s impossible to describe how we feel. What is happening in our country is unacceptable. We must stop this aggression, all together. Ukraine is a country of freedom, I will never give up,” added the City player, who said he considered joining the Ukrainian army to defend his country.
Zinchenko joined in Slovenia, to prepare these dams, the players of Ukrainian clubs authorized to leave the country. He was accompanied by other expatriate Ukrainian players like Andriy Yarmolenko (West Ham) and Roman Yaremchuk (Benfica).
Jokes to keep morale high
But “it is clearly difficult to motivate the team for a match when all the players are thinking of their families in Ukraine,” said coach Oleksandr Petrakov.
“We use all sorts of methods, we even make jokes to keep up morale, but every player feels the enormity of the task we have ahead of us on Wednesday. There is a lot of stress but we will do our best to succeed,” added Petrakov.
(AFP)
