ZIN DREAM OF A HOME
UKRAINE v ENGLAND Kane eyes European glory after switch to Bayern
OLEKSANDR ZINCHENKO revealed Ukraine’s stars are dreaming of returning to play in their homeland one day.
The Ukraine captain (left) is hoping to inspire his side to an unlikely win over England in
Poland tonight to boost their Euro 2024 qualification hopes. But they are also playing to inspire their country, currently at war with Russia.
Ukraine will play in Wrocław, a city which houses more than 300,000 of their citizens displaced by the Russian invasion.
Dreaming
But Arsenal defender Zinchenko is still dreaming of returning home.
He said: “I’m expecting a full stadium of blue and yellow because a lot of Ukrainians are living here.
“I can’t wait until the time we will be (back playing in Ukraine) because all of us are just dreaming about it.”
HARRY KANE believes a Champions League final at Wembley followed by a Euros in Germany is like someone is writing a script for his own Hollywood blockbuster.
The England captain is now Bayern Munich’s star striker and the pressure will be on to help the Germans win the European Cup with the decider at the national stadium next May.
Then he will head back to his new temporary home with the Three Lions as Gareth Southgate’s men look to go one step further than their Euro 2020 final defeat in the next instalment of the tournament.
“I have been told about the Champions League final in Wembley, for sure,” said Kane ahead of tonight’s qualifier against Ukraine in Poland.
“I know the Euros are in Germany next summer so (if) there’s someone out there writing a movie, I will try and do my best to make it happen! It’s hard.
“There’s so much time to go I don’t want to think about it too much, but if it did happen it would be incredible.”
Kane, 30, left Tottenham this summer to move to the Bundesliga.
There was a desire from the striker to go to a club capable of fighting for the biggest trophies after he failed to win any silverware at Spurs.
Yet some believed the England striker may stay at his boyhood club as he closed in on Alan
Shearer’s Premier League record as he sits 47 goals behind the exNewcastle and Blackburn man.
But Kane said: “I think there was a lot of talk about it and the fact I was getting closer to it but I have never been anybody who has chased individual honours ahead of team awards.
“I have said before in interviews, ultimately it comes down to me to see how good I can be and I felt like I had to be playing Champions League football and competing for titles each year.
“Bayern Munich definitely gives me that.
Record
“The record of course would be amazing and it might be amazing if one day I do end up breaking it.
“But it is not why I play football and my move shows that.”
Kane believes England will benefit from his move to
Germany as the experience of going for trophies will help him when the Three Lions get to crunch time in the big tournaments.
He said: “There is no hiding the fact it is the one thing missing from my career at the moment and when you have got players in the squad who have won things you want to be part of that as well and have those experiences as well.
“Just the experiences of having title runs and cup runs and hopefully a Champions League run will only add, hopefully, to handling pressure in certain situations.
“If we are going to win anything with England we are going to have to deal with that. Me, being captain, I want to put myself in that position as much as possible.”
But despite his big move to Germany and playing with the best team in the Bundesliga,
Kane is not the highest scoring English player in Europe with his three goals so far.
Jude Bellingham’s stunning start at Real Madrid has saw the midfielder bag five goals.
Kane has competition from his countryman for the European golden boot.
“f we get to March and he is still up there with me, I might have a few words,” the England captain joked.
UKRAINE (4-1-2-3): Trubin; Konoplya, Zabarnyi, Matviyenko, Mykolenko; Stepanenko; Zinchenko, Sudakov; Tsyhankov, Dovbyk, Mudryk
ENGLAND (4-3-3): Pickford; Walker, Guehi, Maguire,
Chilwell; Bellingham, Rice, Henderson; Saka, Kane, Rashford REFEREE: Georgi Kabakov (Bulgaria)