Oleksandr ZINCHENKO: “The Wales match will be the end of our lives”

Midfielder of the national team of Ukraine Alexander Zinchenko He commented on the victory over team Scotland in the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup playoffs.

“The emotions are very positive but there is no time to rejoice because we have a very important game ahead of us. I would call it the “final of our whole lives”. So it’s time to heal well and prepare yourself as best you can. Each of us must show the best game of our lives and what happens next We’ll see.

Everyone knows the situation in our country very well. The head coach picked up the right words before he entered the field before the game. There is no need to talk much because everyone understands, you have to prove it on the field.

Has the team’s microclimate changed since the start of the war? Yes, we are all united even more, everything was fine before that, we have a good team. Our fans were the best, I want to thank them for that. I understand that not everyone has the opportunity to come to the stadium and support the national team, but today we listened to all our fans for 90 minutes. Thank you to the whole team for this. We supported each other on the field, this was felt. We may not have superstars, but we have a star team because we play and fight for each other.

I can call this stadium a fortress for us. I want to thank all Scots for such a warm welcome. For the applause, for all the words spoken by the players and the coaching staff. I thanked everyone after the match, we all felt it.

As for the curfew in Ukraine, I want it lifted soon and we won the war. This is our main desire and dream. I am very happy that we managed to make every Ukrainian smile for at least a few minutes. I will say that we have a very important match ahead of us, we are one step closer to our dream.”