Ukraine soccer player breaks down in tears at press conference as he pleaded for Russia's invasion of his country to stop

• Oleksandr Zinchenko could not contain his emotions at a press conference on Tuesday.
• "Every Ukrainian wants one thing – to stop this war," the tearful Ukraine international said.

The Ukraine international soccer player Oleksandr Zinchenko burst into tears at a press conference on Tuesday as he pleaded for Russia's invasion of his country to stop.

"Every Ukrainian wants one thing – to stop this war," said Manchester City's Zinchenko, who was speaking to reporters on the eve of Ukraine's crucial World Cup play-off against Scotland.

"I spoke to people from different countries, all over the world, and I spoke to some Ukrainian kids who just don't understand what's happening back in Ukraine," he said. "They only want the war to stop. They have one dream: To stop the war."

Ukraine's match against Scotland on Wednesday is the country's first since Russia began its invasion in late-February.

A win for Oleksandr Petrakov's side would set up a meeting with Wales for a place at the World Cup in Qatar.

Zinchenko, 25, said he and his team will fight to bring the "incredible emotions" of World Cup qualification to people in their homeland.

"When it comes to football, the team, we have our own dream. We want to go to the World Cup, want to give these incredible emotions to the Ukrainians because they deserve it so much at this very moment," he said.

"I am sure that the whole of Ukraine will be watching us. We will feel the support. We can talk a lot, but we need to prove everything on the field," he continued. "We will try to make our people happy and proud."