Ahead of the hosts second game of Euro 2012 against Russia, Sport-locker.net caught up with to stars from the respective teams, Rafal Wolski and Alexandr Kerzkahov…

How did you feel when you found out that Poland and Ukraine would be hosting the European Championships?

Nobody really expected it, so it was a big surprise. I remember the day, I was just a kid, and we watched it in our club. When Platini showed the card, all the coaches and managers went crazy, and it influenced us all and drove us forward.

Can you tell us about your experiences of playing for Poland at home in the past?

I’ve played a couple of games for the Polish U-21 team and it always was a great experience. I can feel that milions of Poles want to be where I am and I feel very privileged.

Can you tell us about your thoughts ahead of playing Russia?

Every team is in the tournament to win, there are no easy games. We have to keep our heads up and look for the big prize, but quarterfinal is a must. The Russian team is strong, and Arshavin is the player that can win the game all on his own so we have to watch out for him especially, but they have some great players in their team so we must be at the top of our game.

How do you feel ahead of Euro 2012?

We were obviously disappointed not to qualify for the World Cup in South Africa but we had the perfect response in winning our Euro 2012 qualifying group. We feel like we have a good chance of progressing through our group but there will be no easy games. We were pleased with our first game but now we have Poland – as hosts they will be desperate to progress. We also have Greece who won the tournament only a few years ago, we expect a tough set of games.

Who are the teams and players to look out for at Euro 2012?

I played in Spain for a few seasons and saw their progression first hand. Spain have had a fantastic four or five years in International football and I’m hopeful that we can have the same sort of progression in Russia. For this tournament I would say they are favourites but I also think Germany are a very strong side – they have an excellent understanding between the players in their side and it shows in their football. We also played Italy recently, they were a very strong side and good test for us ahead of the tournament.

You are also set to play against Poland?

Our second game is against Poland in the group stage and we know they’ll be very passionate and ready to play. The group will probably be quite tight so this game is probably a very important one in terms of determining who progresses. We’ll have to be wary of their attacking midfielders and the threat they pose, they have some good experience but we have hope that our performances through the qualifying part of the tournament means that we’ll be better prepared.

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