A tearful Oleksandr Zinchenko has said that Ukraine will fight to bring the “incredible emotions” of qualifying for the World Cup to the people of their homeland when they face Scotland on Wednesday and that, while the return to peace is the overwhelming priority, the national team aims to meet a goal. football dream.
Ukraine will play its first official match since the country’s Russian invasion of Hampden Park, with the prize a place in the final of the Qatar 2022 playoff against Wales. Football has ceased to be insignificant since February 24, but Zinchenko was visibly moved when, when asked how he and his teammates were able to prepare for the match, he explained the effect that success could have on rural area.
“All Ukrainians want something, to stop this war,” he said. “I have spoken to people all over the world and also to Ukrainian children who do not understand what is happening. They have only one dream: to stop the war.
“When it comes to football, the Ukrainian team has our own dream: we want to go to the World Cup, give these incredible emotions to the people, because the Ukrainians deserve it a lot right now.”
Zinchenko described a “fighting mood” in the team before a match for which Ukraine, whose national core has not played competitive football since last year, are disadvantaged. “Everyone understands what is happening in Ukraine these days what the situation is on the ground, and that is why our motivation is definitely 100% to win,” he said.
Ukraine coach Oleksandr Petrakov spoke about the difficulty of preparing his team for the match, which was initially scheduled for March.
“It’s a very difficult task when every player thinks about their parents and close relatives in Ukraine,” he said. “But it’s clear that all the players understand how big the task is. I’m working with a lot of stress, but we’re still trying to do our best, get the result and our team is fully prepared to fight.”
While events in the field may be uncompromising, there has been a spirit of solidarity in the build-up. A group of Ukrainian and Scottish fans will sing together the Ukrainian national anthem on the stairs of Hampden Park at 6pm, and will encourage local fans to learn the song phonetically.