Andriy Shevchenko believes he still has the sharpness and bite in front of goal to discomfort England at Wembley despite failing to reignite his career back at Milan after his desperate two-year spell in the Premier League with Chelsea.
The 32-year-old cost the Londoners a British record £30m when he swapped San Siro for Stamford Bridge in 2006 but, having mustered only nine league goals with Chelsea before returning to Italy, he has endured a frustrating spell on the Rossoneri's bench. However the Ukraine manager, Oleksiy Mykhaylichenko, described him as "priceless" on Sunday and is expected to hand the veteran a starting place against England after losing the Dynamo Kiev forward Artem Kravets to injury.
"I don't think the lack of playing practice has ever had an influence on my game in the national team," said Shevchenko, who has 39 goals from 85 appearances for Ukraine. "Hopefully, this time will be the same. Someone told me about the 40th goal, but getting a good result in the game against England is more important than my own statistics. A successful result in this match will give us a good chance to qualify for the World Cup for a second time.
"England have one of the best teams in the world. There are a lot of star players in their squad, and it will be very hard to play against them. There's a lot of differences between the Ukraine and the England team, but I believe that we can get a positive result.
"Maybe a good result is a draw for us. But that's my own opinion and I know that some of my team-mates are more confident and believe we can get a result. We will have a chance if every player on the field is 100% or even 150% of their power and show the best game of their lives. If we can do this then success will be on our side."
Mykhaylichenko's team remain unbeaten in Group Six and are currently third, behind Croatia on goal difference and five points from England. Yet the coach believes the leaders can still be overhauled. "We still have chances of reaching the first place in our group," he said. "I perfectly realise how strong our opponents are, but now there are no invincible teams in the world.
"As for Shevchenko, he has played very little this year – he's had lots of injuries, some poor matches – but his experience and desire are priceless for us. Young players will progress faster with him nearby."
Andriy Voronin, the Liverpool striker currently on loan at Hertha Berlin, added: "We have to play better than in our last three games. We must believe in ourselves and the most important, not to be scared of the names of the players who will play against us. Also we must not pay attention to the atmosphere at Wembley, not to hide behind each other's backs and play our own football."