UEFA

Russia v Slovenia, Moscow World Cup Jerseys
Since last month’s draw there have been big expectations on Guus Hiddink’s Russia to qualify for next year’s World Cup. Slovenia was seen as the easy draw but the Dutch maestro is having none of that talk and insists this tie will be tough.

Hiddink said, “I can only say one thing; there is no hint of us underestimating the Slovenians. We all know it will not be an easy game. The stakes are too high.”

Indeed, following Russia’s brilliant Euro 2008 campaign, many of the locals believe they can have a realistic tilt at the cup in 2010 and with stars like Andrei Arshavin, Yuri Zhirkov and Roman Pavlyuchenko, why not?

And despite Hiddink’s tactness, the Slovenians realize they’ve got a huge task with boss Matjaz Kek admitting, “You and I both know that Russia are the favourites. There is no secret that they are a side of great class.”