Former Dynamo Moscow player Yuri Zhirkov said that he is desperate to participate in the Russian World Cup.

At 33 years old he knows that it is hard for him to get a place in the team but he believes that he has a small chance to make it into the national team.

The player believes that the fact that he is playing in Russia can be a decisive factor in getting him into the national side as he is performing in front of his fans and the national coach every week.

Yuri Zhirkov has left Dynamo Moscow at the beginning of the year and joined Zenit. He stated that this had been a difficult decision to take as he has enjoyed so much success with Dynamo Moscow in the past. However, he believes that this was the only way for him to get more playing time and to increase his chance of making it to the World Cup.

The midfielder stated that there is a positive spirit around the whole country for the World Cup and that the Russians are ready to host such a prestigious tournament. More than that, they want to have a competitive football team to participate in the competition.

Yuri Zhirkov said Russians have been disappointed by the performance of the team at the Euros in France and want to see a change in the team. Given that the World Cup will be held at home, they will want their team at least to get out of the group stage and take on the best teams in the world.

The former Dynamo Moscow player said that he is training hard at the moment as he wants to be part of the team to participate in the tournament. He knows that it will not be easy to get a place, but he will not stop trying.