Slovenia hope for historic repeat against Ukraine
>> BELGRADE: Slovenians consider themselves underdogs in the Euro 2016 play-offs against Ukraine today and on Tuesday but hope that in history will repeat itself.
Statistics and form of individual players “distinctly favour Ukraine”, the Ljubljana-based Delo paper said.
“If only player statistics decided... Slovenia would travel to Lviv waving a white flag.”
But fans nonetheless have real hope “of a heroic feat for Slovenia” because Slovenia beat Ukraine in the play-offs for Euro 2000, winning 2-1 at home and then drawing 1-1 away to make the finals.
The upcoming return leg, this time in Slovenia, will be 16 years on the day, Nov 17, after the first major qualification for the country since splitting from former Yugoslavia.
Slovenia winger Valter Birsa said Ukraine will be a “tough nut to crack”.
Ukrainians play in well-paying, strong clubs even when they remain in the country, so many of them play together and know each others well, he pointed out.
“We have a shot if we take advantage of their mistakes, while committing as few as possible... and we must fight,” Birsa told reporters after the team practice in Brdo pri Kranju.
Birsa said he was hoping to return to Slovenia for the second leg on Tuesday with “an open result”.
Fiorentina’s Slovenian forward Josip Ilicic told RTVSlo that “there is no room for mistakes”.
Ukraine veteran Anatoliy Tymoshchuk meanwhile said his side must not be drawn into emotional wrangling over the 1999 loss, and not as a chance for revenge although everyone “vividly remembers” that loss.
Tymoshchuk said Slovenia cannot be under-estimated again.
“I watched them play, they fight all the time and were hard rivals in every qualifying match,” Delo quoted him as saying.
“I can say that they’re not a weaker opponent than England or Switzerland would be. Slovenia showed a high level of football,” Tymoshchuk said.