OLEKSANDR ZINCHENKO insists Ukraine face the game of their lives against Wales tonight.
Ukraine take on Rob Page’s side in Cardiff this evening in a straight shootout for a place at the World Cup in Qatar this winter.
Zinchenko was highly influential in helping his country comfortably beat Scotland on Wednesday night.
The match finished 3-1, with the Manchester City player running the game for large spells as Ukraine’s top talents showed their quality during such a difficult period for their homeland, as the Russian invasion continues.
The circumstances could not be tougher for the Ukraine players and staff.
One thing is for sure though, if the play at the same level tonight as they did on Wednesday, they will do their nation proud. That is the primary focus for Zinchenko and his teammates heading into this crunch game.
He said: “Everyone is happy that we won, but everyone also understands that we have another game, another final and we need to win it.
“We need to fight for our dream, like I said already in the past. Our dream is to be at the World Cup and the next game is the final of our lives.
“I would like to say thank you to our President, the Ukrainian President, for letting the Ukrainian-based players go abroad to make the training camp.
“I would also like to say thanks to UEFA who organised everything for us. We had unbelievable facilities, so the guys had a couple of weeks to prepare for the games.
“I would say the most important thing was not the physical conditions, not the technical skills or individual moments. Today (Wednesday), the main thing was the desire to win the game, that’s it. Everyone was fighting for the country, and that’s what we’re going to do in Cardiff.
“You never know what’s going to happen in football. For example, this season, the game Manchester City vs Madrid away. We were 1-0 up but during a couple of minutes we were out of the competition.
“The game against Aston Villa on the last day of the Premier League as well. We were 2-0 down and then we scored three.
“So, you never know but the most important thing is that we need to be ready mentally. We need to recover and prepare ourselves as best as we can.
“Everyone needs to show the best performance of our lives and then we will see what happens.”
Like everyone from his country, Zinchenko has been deeply affected by the war crimes being committed back home over the past few months.
The 25-year-old broke down in tears during Tuesday’s pre-match press conference as he previewed the semi-final clash at Hampden.
It would be totally understandable had these matches been too much mentally and even physically for the Ukrainian players to go through given everything that has happened.
Instead, though, Zinchenko & Co. showed an ice-cool composure – playing in a calm and controlled manner throughout Wednesday’s tie.
Addressing keeping their emotions in check, he added: “That was the key, I guess. In the toughest period in our lives, there was too much emotion. Everyone was pushing each other but at the same time you need to control your emotions.
“You need to think about your game and what to do on the pitch. During the 90-minutes we did well but I would say that there were some moments during the middle of the second-half that we tired and we dropped a bit deeper than usual, which is why Scotland created more chances.
“We knew Scotland would come at us, because they needed to score. Almost everyone was in our box. In this case, unfortunately we have a lot of bad experience as we conceded late goals against Kazakhstan and Finland.
“We have a young team who already have quite a lot of experience. Still, we have to learn how to play in this way.
“Everyone has been pushing each other on in the dressing room. We knew there were going to be periods of toughness in the game.
“With everything that is happening in Ukraine right now, with people surviving, how they are suffering and starving. We need to think about this. We cannot tire, we just can’t. We need to fight until the end.
“Everyone is supporting each other, we are all close to each other, on and off the pitch. That’s the special quality in our group.”
Zinchenko also paid tribute to everyone behind the scenes at the Scottish FA, the players, coaching staff and the fans for the support shown to Ukraine throughout such a tough time.
He also revealed what he said to Andy Robertson during a quiet word on the pitch after the game.
He said: “We knew that it was going to be a tough game. It is not easy to play against Scotland, with unbelievable players. The way they play is not easy to play against.
“We were away with all of their fans here, but our fans were incredible tonight as well.
“Everyone of us know that there was not a lot of opportunity for our people to come and visit for tonight’s game, especially in the toughest period of our lives.
“They were brilliant. We could hear them throughout the 90-minutes
“Once again, I would like to say a massive thanks to all of Scotland’s federation, all the Scotland players, all the Scotland fans as well, for their warm hospitality which we received before the game during this tough period.
“In all of the interviews, we’ve been reading everything, I’m so, so grateful.
“I spoke with Andy. I said to him that Scotland has such an unbelievable team and that he’s such a great player. He’s one of the best full-backs in the world. I wish him all the best.”