Hiddink clutches to Croatia lifeline

Russia coach Guus Hiddink refuses to throw in the towel even though his side no longer control their own destiny in UEFA EURO 2008™ Group E.

Croatia hopes
Should England draw at home to Croatia on Wednesday, both those teams will advance at Russia's expense regardless of their result in Andorra. Hiddink, though, is not ruling out another twist in what has turned out to be an unpredictable section. "You cannot draw the line yet because there is still one match to play," he said. "I expect Croatia to perform with great commitment, just like Israel did [against Russia]. They played more defensively but they fought, fought and fought. It is the only way to represent your country. I see nothing impossible in a Croatia victory – they certainly have enough class to get one."

'Realist'
Victory for Russia in Tel-Aviv on Saturday would have put them on the brink of qualification. Instead Israel won 2-1, Omer Golan's 92nd-minute goal deciding the match moments after Dmitri Sychev had hit the post at the other end. Hiddink, however, is not dwelling on his side's misfortune. "The result is in the scoreline," he said. "We can talk a lot about whether it's fair or not, about us having the advantage after the break, about missed chances, but we cannot change the score. I'm a realist. It has nothing to do with luck – we lost because we did something wrong."

Progress
Hiddink is also quick to emphasise the progress his team have made. "This defeat should not overshadow what we have already done," he said. "Despite all the disappointment, this team have a good future. They can play decent football but they still have to learn how to deal with critical situations. It would be a great achievement for these young players to qualify from a group with Croatia, England and Israel. Of course, we're deeply upset but I have no doubts about the future of this Russia team."

Learning process
Football Union of Russia president Vitali Mutko concurs. "We really let our fans down, but this experience will be very useful for our youngsters in the future," he said. "There are no other players for the national side. It is up to these players to represent Russian football over the next four or five years, so we have to learn from this defeat. Remember France slipping up against Israel [when they failed to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup] and winning the World Cup four years later? That is how you learn from your mistakes."