MY ACCOUNT
Oleksandr Zinchenko insisted Ukraine’s win over Scotland will mean nothing if he and his team-mates cannot go on and beat Wales to qualify for the Qatar World Cup.
Zinchenko played a key role as Ukraine defeated Scotland 3-1 on Wednesday at Hampden Park in an emotional return to competitive action.
The World Cup qualifying play-off semi-final was delayed from March following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is still ongoing.
But goals from Andriy Yarmolenko, Raman Yaremchuk and Artem Dovbyk mean that only Wales stand in the way of Ukraine and a place in Qatar.
Manchester City utility man Zinchenko, though, knows the requirements are clear heading to Cardiff for Sunday’s contest.
“Everyone knows the situation right now in Ukraine and every single game is like a final for us,” he told Sky Sports.
“We have dreamed to be at the World Cup, so we have one more game, one more final and we need to win it, otherwise this game is not going to mean anything.
“It’s going to be a massive game for us. Everyone understands the situation. Every one of us needs to show the best performance in our lives and then we’ll see what’s going to happen.”
In his post-match news conference, Ukraine coach Oleksandr Petrakov said: “I have no emotion, I left my emotion on the pitch. This wasn’t a win for us, it was for our country.”
Ruslan Malinovskyi, the Atalanta midfielder, told beIN SPORTS: “This win for our people, our country, in a difficult period they are living.
“Also my parents, my brother, they are there in Ukraine and we just want it to finish and pray for our people that this war is finished as soon as possible.
“Now we are not playing for ourselves, we play for our whole country. Soldiers, also normal people, will follow [the Wales] game with their phone, on their TV.
“I think it will be a similar game. It will be a battle, the same, we need to play our game, be fast and be ready for the duels.”
