War-torn Ukraine will face Wales in Saturday’s 2022 World Cup qualifying playoff and legend Andriy Shevchenko says they’re playing for their fans and their country.
Ukraine has been in the midst of war since Russia’s invasion in February, but the football side can lift spirits by clinching qualification for the tournament in Qatar later this year.
All that stands in their way is Wales in Cardiff and Shevchenko, who played for Ukraine 111 times scoring 48 goals and previously coached the side, spoke about what was at stake.
“We need to play for the fans, for the whole of Ukraine, for those at home, for those defending the country and for those who left the country,” the former Chelsea and AC Milan striker said.
On the flipside, Wales may have reached the semi-finals at Euro 2016 but they have not qualified for the World Cup in 64 years, dating back to 1958.
“We are well aware of the situation that Ukraine is in right now,” Welsh defender Ben Davies said. “It must be incredibly tough to be in their shoes.”
On Wales’ history, he added: “It is something that we’ve been desperate to do for 50-60 years. It is a dream for our team and we’ve put ourselves in a situation where we are one game away, and the focus for us will be purely on that.
“We’ve only focused on what is in our control with the squad that we’ve got now. These boys are very fearless. It may be their first experience of crunch games since the Euros last year.
“I think the better we do, people always expect us to maintain that level, but the reality is we have a small group of players to pick from, comparatively, to teams we come up against. I really do believe we are punching above our weight.”
There’s few injury concerns for either side, with Gareth Bale set to suit up for Wales, while the visitors will be led by goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov and West Ham midfielder Andriy Yarmolenko.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Football News Articles…