Teary Zinchenko opens up on Ukraine war as he prepares for Scotland play-off

Ukraine play Scotland at Hampden Park in a delayed World Cup play-off semi-final and the 25-year-old began his pre-match press conference by thanking the hosts for postponing the game, which was due to be played in March.

And the horrifying scenes in Ukraine, where it has nearly been 100 days since Russian forces invaded, were at the forefront of the conversation in Glasgow where Zinchenko scored for his country in the win against Sweden at Euro 2020.

"Every Ukrainian wants one thing - to stop this war," he said when asked about that game and the very different situation his nation now finds itself in 12 months on from the Euros.

"I have spoken with people from all around the world, from different countries. I have also spoken to some Ukrainian kids who just don't understand what's happening back in Ukraine. They only want the war to stop. They have one dream, to stop the war.

"When it comes to football, the Ukrainian team have their own dream. We want to go to the World Cup, we want to give this incredible emotion to the Ukrainians because Ukrainians deserve it so very much at this moment."

But he added that he and his team-mates had arrived in Glasgow in a 'fighting mood' as they are determined to deliver an achievement to be a source of pride for a beleaguered nation.

Zinchenko, whose team will also need to beat Wales in Cardiff on Sunday to qualify, added: "I'm pretty sure that all Ukraine who has this opportunity is going to watch us, and we are going to feel this support 100 per cent.

"We can speak a lot but we need to do it on the pitch. We are going to try to make them happy and proud."

He also welcomed a scheme to help Scotland fans learn the Ukrainian national anthem so they can show their solidarity ahead of the match.

"We have to be together, we have to fight Russian aggression, we have to defeat that evil," he added. "So this is an amazing, amazing initiative.

"A lot of countries maybe don't understand that today is Ukraine, tomorrow could be you. So that's why we need to be united and defeat this Russian aggression all together."

Head coach Oleksandr Petrakov admitted his challenge of keeping his players focused on football, with a range of emotions swirling around their minds, was difficult.

"We use all sorts of methods, even jokes. We motivate people in a light manner. But clearly every player understands how huge the task is," he said.

"That will make their task even more difficult, working under a lot of stress. But we are trying to do our best and achieve results. The team is fully prepared."

The majority of his squad is based in the Ukrainian league, which halted for a winter break in December and did not resume after the Russian invasion on February 24.

The match at Hampden will decide which team will play Wales in Cardiff for a spot in the finals, something Scotland has not achieved since 1998.

The winner of that game then gets a spot in a group featuring England, Iran and the United States when the World Cup begins in Qatar later this year.