OLEKSANDR ZINCHENKO admits he will have his work cut-out trying to stop the ‘amazing’ Raheem Sterling when Ukraine face England tonight.
The two Manchester City players have both played key roles in firing their nations in the last eight of Euro 2020.
Full-back Zinchenko, 24, has played a range of positions for Andriy Shevchenko’s team which includes wide on the left.
And he grabbed a goal and an assist in their last-16 win over Sweden earlier this week to set-up a showdown in Rome against the Three Lions.
Meanwhile, Sterling has become a national icon after his heroics for Gareth Southgate’s side.
The 26-year-old forward has scored three goals for England and broke the deadlock against Germany in the epic 2-0 victory in front of a raucous Wembley on Tuesday.
Zinchenko could also come up against club mates John Stones, Kyle Walker and Phil Foden come 8pm this evening.
But ahead of kick off, he revealed he and the rest of the Ukrainian side must find a way to stop Sterling to dump England out an advance to the semis.
He said: “Raheem Sterling is one of the best wingers in the world. Right now, he is in amazing form, he is great. He makes the difference.
“We obviously need to pay attention and we will need to somehow maybe stop him because he is on a roll now.”
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Zinchenko and Ukraine will attempt to become the first team to score against the Three Lions during Euro 2020.
He admits it will take the performance of their careers if they are to upset the odds and secure a semi-final place – but they are planning to do just that.
The ace added: “Numbers speak for themselves, and the fact that England hasn’t conceded any goals so far shows they play very well in defence.
“But there are no perfect teams. Every team has weaknesses.
“Over the last couple of years I’ve been playing with Kyle Walker and John Stones, and they play to a very high level. And last season they played amazing.
“It will not be easy, we know. But at this stage of the tournament, everything is possible.
“The coaching team will tell us how score and we will do our best, we will try to surprise them.
“But we realise that to get through, all the players and the whole team, they will need to play probably the best game of their lives.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
