Russia urged to keep their cool

Midfielder Diniyar Bilyaletdinov has urged Russia "not to panic" as they look to strike a decisive blow to England's UEFA EURO 2008™ hopes at Wembley.

Shaky finishing
Russia arrived in London at full strength following Saturday's 3-0 win against F.Y.R. Macedonia, save for the absences of goalkeeper Vladimir Gabulov who is suspended after being dismissed on Saturday and forward Ivan Saenko, who will not recover from an ankle injury in time for the game. None of the eight key players within a caution of a suspension were shown the yellow card at the Lokomotiv Stadium, but Russia's inefficiency in front of goal was a cause for some concern.

'Stay cool'
Guus Hiddink's men created plenty of opportunities but failed to make the game safe until the final six minutes having taken an eighth-minute lead. They will not expect so many chances against England, but FC Lokomotiv Moskva star Bilyaletdinov insists poise is the key. "It is very important not to panic, to stay cool until the clear-cut chances come and make use of all of them," he said. "Unfortunately, we did not do this against F.Y.R. Macedonia. We saw some slackness, a lack of attention and a lack of speed in some periods of the game."

Attacking mentality
Russia's record against Europe's biggest footballing nations is not great, but the return of PFC CSKA Moskva winger Yuri Zhirkov is a lift for Hiddink, who is determined to continue playing attacking football at Wembley as a win would lift his team five points clear of England with three qualifiers to play. "We should try to fight, to press opponents in every area of the pitch," said the Dutchman. "We are going to make a few changes simply because we are playing a different opponent. But we're not looking just to defend - we will try to play an attacking game."

Smertin hopeful
Aleksei Smertin, the only Russian playing in the English Premier League, continues to be omitted from the squad, but the 55-times capped Fulham FC defensive midfielder had encouraging words for his countrymen. "There are some reasons to be optimistic, especially given the England team's current form," said Smertin. "Russia have the opportunity to fight for three points not only for a draw. They should certainly take to the pitch with that attitude."

England confident
England captain John Terry knows that Russia are a force to be reckoned with but feels his side are in good form after a 4-0 triumph against Israel at the weekend. "Russia are a very, very good side and it is going to be a much tougher game than the one against Israel," he said. "When the pressure is really on we do rise to it. Right from the start against Israel we set the tempo in the first five or ten minutes and got right in their faces."