Hiddink predicts England demise
Russia coach Guus Hiddink is confident his team can win its remaining two matches in European qualifying, thus knocking out England.
The big test for the Russians will come on Saturday in Tel Aviv against Israel, before their finale against lowly Andorra.
“Israel have no extra pressure as they cannot qualify,” Hiddink said.
“They will also be playing at home and will try to attack, but I don’t think they will be able to put us under pressure for the entire 90 minutes.
“We’ll have to stick to our plan and be aggressive but at the same time watch out for their counter-attacks.
“I’m realistic enough to know it will be another big test.”
A slip-up against the Israeli’s may not be enough to eliminate Russia, with England needing to beat top-of-the-table Croatia at Wembley to stand a chance of overtaking the Russians.
The Hiddink touch is slowly turning Russia into a competitive unit. The master coach took Australia’s Socceroos from relative obscurity to the World Cup top 16, while his feats with South Korea, where Hiddink drove the 2002 Cup hosts to the semis, are legendary.
“One of my goals when I came here was to change the mentality of Russian players. I wanted to play an attractive attacking game, not to put nine or 10 men behind the ball and wait for the opponents to make a mistake,” Hiddink said.
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