Wales won 1-0 against Ukraine in Cardiff and secured their qualification to the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Everything was happiness for the home team that celebrated with their fans, while their rival lamented that the dream towards the World Cup was not successfully achieved.
After the final whistle, Oleksandr Zinchenko cried for not bringing joy to a country that has been immersed in the drama of a war that "must be completely stopped" for months.
The Manchester City player emphasized that "everyone needs to live in peace and we must stop the war completely," he said after the match against Wales.
At one point, the Manchester City defender was comforted by the Spanish referee Mateu Lahoz, who spoke to the player for several seconds.
Message to all Ukraine
"Now it's Ukraine, but who knows what will happen tomorrow. We must stick together," said Zinchenko. "We all must keep fighting. As football players, we must represent our country as best as we can."
Ukraine "was better" than Wales
The Ukrainian midfielder considered that his team was better than Wales and deserved the qualification that was prevented by the local goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey. "He had an incredible performance. He was the best player of the match without a doubt."
"Overall, I don't think we deserved to lose. But that's football and sometimes it happens," lamented Oleksandr Zinchenko. "We all gave everything, we left everything on the field."
"Football is about emotions and we can give great emotions to our fans. However, unfortunately, we didn't achieve the goal we wanted," concluded the Manchester City player.