Oleksandr Zinchenko: "I can't believe it's our third Euros"

28.03.2024 14:37

In the final playoff match of the EURO 2024 qualifiers, the national team of Ukraine secured a hard-fought victory over Iceland (2:1) and advanced to the European Championship in Germany.

Sharing his emotions was the versatile player of the blue-yellow team, Oleksandr Zinchenko.

"I'm incredibly proud of this moment. I'm very proud to be Ukrainian because today, in such a difficult time for our country, every time you put on a shirt with the Ukrainian emblem, you feel special emotions. I want to thank all the fans who supported us throughout this time. Sometimes we might not have played as well as some wanted, but today the result was paramount. And thanks to your support, we achieved it.

I can't believe it's our third Euros already. I feel a bit old, but as I said before, we're at the Euros. It will be a great experience for the whole team because the national team is undergoing changes, with many young players, and this will be a huge tournament for them. I also want to say that we missed those players who weren't with the team today. But the support we felt from them and everyone was very important. I just want to thank everyone for that.

We expected such a game from Iceland. That is, they would sit back a bit defensively and use their counterattacks and set pieces. So, we talked to each other before the game about minimizing those set pieces near our goal. We more or less coped with that task. Unfortunately, we conceded first. Here, the individual skill of one of their players played a role, whom we should have paid attention to because he scored three goals against Israel. But that's football. Nevertheless, we reacted very well to that goal in the second half and, thanks to the support from the stands, achieved a crucial result.

It's always difficult to play in such games because the tension on the pitch is incredible. But honestly, it became much easier for me when the fans started chanting my name when I was on the sidelines. It just gave me even more inspiration. I just wanted to make a difference for the team, giving it my all.

Andriy Shevchenko came into the dressing room. He thanked us for the result, and for receiving many messages of congratulations from people who are currently dedicating their lives in Ukraine for our freedom. This is just extra motivation for us to go out onto the pitch and give it our all. Because we understood that today the result would be paramount, and many people would be watching us. And, in particular, the military who are currently on the front lines. We received many messages from them. You don't need to find any additional motivation," said Oleksandr Zinchenko.