Russia's Kokorin gripped by World Cup dream
Monday, March 3, 2014
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Russia striker Aleksandr Kokorin spoke to UEFA.com about this summer's FIFA World Cup, a tournament he hopes will be the first of plenty in a career with "many years ahead".
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An exciting young striker with a knack for scoring crucial goals, Russia's Aleksandr Kokorin is only going to get better judging by his infectious desire to succeed.
"My goal is to improve and to reach final tournaments with the national team," said the FC Dinamo Moskva player, who struck four times in qualifying as Russia took their place at this summer's FIFA World Cup by topping Group F ahead of Portugal. "I just want to play and train as much as possible. I still have many years ahead of me."
"[Reaching the World Cup] is important for Russia. We have very loyal fans, and you can see at the Olympics in Sochi how passionate they are for their favourite sportsmen. The World Cup will be much more exciting for the Russia fans than ever before. It will be a new experience."
Kokorin is also savouring the prospect of featuring in "the greatest tournament you can experience in the life of a footballer" when Fabio Capello's side compete in a section containing South Korea, Algeria and Belgium. "I would pinpoint Belgium with their young team performing so well; they are our main rival in the group," he said.
To hear more from Kokorin, click on the video player above.