Ukrainian national team midfielder Oleksandr Zinchenko also took part in the press conference of the head coach of the Ukrainian national team Serhiy Rebrov held today in Wroclaw, dedicated to tomorrow's Euro 2024 qualifying match against England.
Alexander Zinchenko. Photo - A.Popov- How to distribute the forces for the matches against England and Italy?
- I am very grateful that I had a lot of coaches in my life, from whom I learnt a lot. One of them is Oleksandr Golovko, who always taught us to think that the most important game is the one today. So we don`t look at the standings, we don`t look at who is the favourite and how much the players in our opponents` squad are worth. Everything happens in football, but we have our own goal. Slowly, but we are going towards it
- How do you plan to remind the world that there is a war in Ukraine in tomorrow's match?
- I am very grateful for this question. And I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to Poland and all Poles for their support of Ukrainians. I have friends living here, and I know from them how friendly Poles are and how they support us in this difficult time.
Tomorrow, of course, I expect a stadium in blue and yellow colours. But for us it is still a completely different atmosphere than if we play in Ukraine. I really want to play at home at last.
- What does it mean for you to play for Ukraine at this moment?
- Football is an international language. We can speak different languages, but everyone understands football. So I try to use any moment to remind the world about what is happening. I think it is my duty to talk about the war.
I am grateful to the AFU for the fact that we have the opportunity to play and represent Ukraine at such a high level. We should always realise that we are the face of our country. I play abroad and therefore I have to constantly show and tell everyone that there is a war. There is a lot of propaganda. And people should know the truth.
- How do you find a balance between emotions and what is in your head during matches?
- For more than a year now, every time you go on the pitch, you realise that behind you there are those who are fighting for the independence of Ukraine. These people also have families, but they risk and do everything on the front line to make Ukraine exist. When you know that, there is no self-pity: you just go out and play.
Alexander POPOV from Wroclaw
