Zamyatin issues Ukraine rallying cry

Giving their all
Ukraine's first two opponents are 2005 finalists Spain and Russia, meaning the two-time runners-up will need to hit the ground running if their hopes of reaching the last four are to remain alive when they face Serbia on Wednesday. Zamyatin is in no doubt about that. "I think we have to give all we have in this game against Spain," the FC Yenakievets player told uefa.com. "If we lose, then we will have two matches left and less energy. Russia are not weaker than Spain, so it will be even tougher to pick up points. Serbia are of the same class as us, and it will hard to play them as well. We will motivate ourselves specifically for the first game. We need to do as well as possible."

Disappointing record
However, Ukraine have a poor record against Spain, with four defeats in as many meetings in the last three tournaments, including the 2001 final and most recently the semis in Ostrava two years ago, a game in which Zamyatin was involved. "We lost 5-0 and it was really disappointing for us," the 28-year-old said. "Of course I remember playing against them, they're the magicians of the ball, and an exceptionally strong team. It's difficult to play them."

Gameplan
However, Zamyatin has a gameplan for the young Ukraine team in their encounter with the holders in Porto. "We should be very careful in defence and should play with maximum determination and will to win," he said. "We should break the jinx of always losing to Spain. We sometimes beat Russia, but we have never been able to do anything against Spain."